


Broken Bonds

by 0Aratay0



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M, Harry away from the Dursley's, Harry living with Sirius and Remus, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Soul Bond, Triwizard Tournament, free Sirius
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 86
Words: 175,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25526431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0Aratay0/pseuds/0Aratay0
Summary: What happens if Harry can see traces of magic and realizes that Sirius is an animagus.What happens when Harry recognizes Sirius from an early memory.What happens when Sirius finds his godson running away from home, covered in bruises.What happens when it's revealed that Sirius didn't get a trial and that he's Harry's legal guardian.What happens when both Harry and Ginny need someone to talk to about the events of their past.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 107
Kudos: 195





	1. Getting Out

**Author's Note:**

> The characters of Harry Potter and the Harry Potter world don't belong to me and are the creation of J.K Rowling. The chapter lengths will vary throughout the story. I know that my writing isn't perfect and any comments about how I could improve or any mistakes that you find are welcomed.

Harry dragged his trunk behind him, limping away from the house that had been his prison. He didn't care what Dumbledore or anyone else said. He wasn't going back to that house. He approached an alleyway and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He held his wand out in front of him, ready to defend himself if the need arose.  
A large black dog emerged from the shadows, growling softly. Harry focused on the faint glow of magic that surrounded the animal. It was a similar glow to the one that Professor McGonagall gave off while in her animagus form.

"You're an animagus. Change back," he instructed. The dog back up slightly, before becoming human.

In front of Harry stood a ragged looking man. His hair was long and tangled and there was a slightly mad air around him. Harry focused on the magic surrounding him, watching it intently, watching it flare and pulse around the man. A memory of the man surfaced, one that had been buried deep within his memory.

He was extremely young and playing with the same man that was before him. The man was younger and well taken care of. In the memory, the man was holding him high above his head, making the young Harry laugh. Harry's father watched them, while his mother looked slightly scared.

"Padfoot, put Harry down before you drop him."

Harry was drawn out of the memory and watched the man in front of him. How had the man from his memory become this man. He looked like he had been through hell and back.

"Padfoot?" he asked. The man looked shocked.

"You remember me?" he asked. His voice was low and strained, like he hadn't talked for years.

"Vaguely."

"Padfoot was my nickname, my actual name is Sirius. I was your father's best friend, his brother. And I'm your godfather," Sirius said.

"Where have you been? Godfathers are meant to look after their godchild, but I was left in that hell hole," he exclaimed, angry now. He had been left with abusive guardians, when he had had a perfectly able godfather.

"I was in prison, for a crime I didn't commit," Sirius said. He went on to explain about how Peter had betrayed everyone, telling Voldemort where the Potters were living. About how he had tried to confront Peter, but Peter had made a scene, disappearing down the sewers as a rat after blowing apart the street. And how he was found on the scene of the crime and immediately convicted, without a trial.

"But what about you pup? You mentioned a hell hole." Harry sighed, moving into the light that a streetlight had cast. Sirius gasped as the extent of his injuries were displayed.  
He had black and blue bruises covering his arms, a bright red burn spot evident on his left forearm. Harry watched as Sirius' eyes trailed downwards, taking in his overly large clothes and the awkward angle of his right ankle; he was pretty sure that is was fractured.

"I had to get out. It would have been worse otherwise." He shuddered, thinking about the backlash that he would receive from blowing up Aunt Marge. Sirius nodded and took a step forward, holding his hand out.

"Can I have your wand for a moment?" he asked. Harry hesitated, remembering the last time someone else had taken his wand; that had been back in the Chamber.

"Why?"

"I want to help heal you. I can't do much but I can reduce your bruises and help with the swelling around your ankle." Harry slowly handed his wand over and allowed the man in front of him, his godfather, to heal him, being careful to watch his wand at all times. Slowly, the ache in his ankle started to go away and the bruises that he could see faded.   
He noticed Sirius scanning him up and down, most likely checking for any other injury he could help with, before Sirius nodded, handing his wand back, which Harry pocketed.

"That's as much as I can do. Go to the Leaky Cauldron, rent a room. You should go to Gringotts tomorrow, they might be able to help you find somewhere to live. The Potters have many houses that you could live in. Ask to talk about your vaults, and for an inheritance test. Just stick out your wand arm over the road. That will summon the Knight Bus, and you can use that to get to London," Sirius said. Harry nodded, not showing the shock about the fact that he had more than one vault, and Sirius changed back into a dog.

"I'll try and owl you soon," Harry said, before moving towards the road and sticking his wand arm out over the road, summoning the knight bus.

A violently purple, triple decker bus appeared before him, skidding to a stop with the door right in front of him. A man wearing purple uniform, who looked to be 18 or 19, stepped out of the bus and began speaking loudly.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this evening. Where are you going this evening?" He looked at Harry and he swallowed before answering.  
"London. The Leaky Cauldron more specifically."

"That will be eleven sickles, fourteen if you want a hot chocolate or fifteen for a toothbrush in a colour of your choice and a hot-water bottle," Stan replied. Harry nodded, pulling his trunk onto the bus behind him as he climbed on. He dumped his trunk on one of the many beds around the bus, opening it so as to extract his money pouch.  
He closed his trunk after extracting the pouch, just in time to save the contents from being thrown all across the bus, for the bus suddenly took off. He counted out 11 sickles, handing them to Stan, before storing the money pouch in his pocket. He took a seat on the bed with his trunk, holding onto the bed frame to prevent himself from being thrown all over the place. The bus drove extremely dangerously; weaving in and out of traffic; mounting the pavement, which caused objects to jump out of its way; and randomly jumping from one place to another with loud bangs, which reminded Harry of how Dobby, a house elf, had traveled.

Finally, the bus stopped outside the Leaky Cauldron. Harry thanked Stan, climbing off the bus and vowing never to use it again. It hadn't been a pleasant experience. He made his way inside, trunk still dragging behind him. The pub was basically empty, apart from one or two customers and Tom, behind the bar. Harry approached the bar and Tom put down the glass he was cleaning.

"How can I help you this evening?" Tom asked. Harry was glad that his hair was covering his scar, he really didn't want attention being brought to him.

"One room please. I'm not sure how long I'll be staying. The end of the summer at the longest," he said. Tom nodded, handing over a key.

"Room 7 is yours for as long as you need it. Payment will be collected when you check out. Up the stairs, fourth door on the right." Harry thanked Tom and made his way up the stairs. He unlocked his room, stepping into the room and turning on the light.

The room was nothing compared to his dorm at Hogwarts, but it was an upgrade from Dudley's second bedroom. And it was exceedingly more preferred than the cupboard that he had slept in for 10 years. He placed his trunk at the end of his bed and locked the door, before collapsing on the bed.

When Harry woke the next morning, he dressed quickly, going down to the pub to get breakfast. It was nice to not have to worry about chores for once. After enjoying his breakfast - what a change that was, during the summer at least - he headed into Diagon Alley. He made a quick stop at Madam Malkins, to get some new clothes as he didn't want to wear Dudley's clothes for longer than he needed; he hadn't had a chance during the previous summer.

He placed his new clothes in his room in the Leaky Cauldron and donned new clothes before going back into Diagon Alley. He headed straight to Gringotts, intending to do as Sirius had suggested. The bank wasn't crowded, due to the early hour, which he was grateful for. He made his way to a free teller.

"Hello, I would like to talk to someone about my vaults and take an inheritance test," he requested.

"Name?" the goblin asked.

"Harry Potter," he replied, cautious of how loud he spoke.

"Well Mr Potter, your account manager, Jangrak, is free at the moment. Griphook will take you to him. Griphook," the teller called over his shoulder. The same goblin that Harry remembered from his first time at the bank appeared and the teller had a quick conversation with him in a language that Harry could only assume was Gobbledygook, the language of goblins.

"Follow me Mr Potter," Griphook said and turned away. Harry followed him through a few corridors that were full of doors, before stopping in front of a door labelled Jangrak.  
"Thank you Griphook," Harry said with a slight bow of his head. Griphook seemed startled but hid it quickly.

"Of course, Mr Potter," he replied, returning the small bow. Griphook then knocked on the door and pushed it open, before leaving. Harry entered the office to find another goblin, Jangrak he presumed, seated behind a desk. He sat down in the chair opposite Jangrak.

"Ah, Mr Potter. I was wondering how long before I met you. What may I do for you?" Jangrak asked.

"I would like to discuss my vaults, as well as take an inheritance test," he requested. Jangrak nodded, pulling out a piece of parchment and a small knife.

"Three drops of blood on the parchment for the inheritance test, and I will gather the information on your vaults while the test takes place," Jangrak said. Harry picked up the knife, pricking his finger and allowing three drops of blood to land on the parchment. He then focussed on the magic that he could see wrapped around himself and willed a thicker layer over the cut. The cut healed instantly, and he withdrew his focus to look at the inheritance test.

He was shocked to see who some of his ancestors were. His family tree extended from his father's side, all the way up to the line of Godric Gryffindor. He was also surprised at the other information, such as how many vaults and properties he could inherit, as well as the available heirships and lordships, for when he came of age. Jangrak had placed three folders on the desk between them while Harry studied the inheritance test.

"These hold all the information about your vaults, properties and shares in various businesses." Harry opened the folder that was about his vaults and was shocked by the amount of money that was in just the main Potter vault, let alone all the other vaults that he owned, including a Gryffindor vault. The vault that he had been accessing was simply the Trust Vault and the only one he could take money out of until he reached his majority. Even in just that vault, he thought he had plenty of money.

The next folder detailed all his properties, including which ones were empty. A few of the properties in other countries were being rented out, while many in Britain were empty, with only house elves to maintain them. The third folder had information about his shares, and he surprised to see how many successful companies that someone in the Potter family had invested in.

"I also have Lily and James Potter's will here. It has not been read as no one requested to see it within 2 months of their deaths, on which time the will was sealed. However, as you are the Heir Potter, you have authority to unseal it."

"Yes, I would like it unsealed, please," Harry said.

Jangrak pulled out a scroll of parchment, placing it in front of him. Harry inspected the scroll of parchment, his attention drawn to the traces of magic on the edges of the parchment. He picked up the scroll, watching as the magic disappeared. He unrolled it and read his parents' will.


	2. Changing Things

_I, James Fleamont Potter, and I, Lily Rose Potter nee Evans, being of sound mind, body and memory, do hereby declare this as our Last Will and Testament on the 14th of August, 1981, hereby revoking all prior Wills and Codicils made by us at any time from here onwards._

_If one of us survives, everything I own is left to my spouse. If the situation occurs where we have both died, we leave the following bequests:_

_To Sirius Black, we leave a key to Potter manor, as he is family and always welcome._

_To Remus Lupin, we leave 1000 galleons._

_To Peter Pettigrew, we thank you for being our Secret Keeper and leave you 500 galleons._

_To Severus Snape, we leave 100 galleons and letter in the Potter vault addressed to him, as well as the hope that he understands his wrongdoings._

_We leave everything else that we own, including all properties and vaults to our son Harry. Should neither of us be alive to take over guardianship of our son, his guardianship should go as follows:_

_Sirius Black, his godfather_

_Alice Longbottom, his godmother_

_Remus Lupin, a close family friend_

_Minerva McGonagall, a trusted friend and teacher_

_Under no circumstances should he be placed with Petunia Dursley and Vernon Dursley._

Harry read the will twice more before it finally dawned on him that he shouldn't have ever gone to the Dursleys.

"I would like all the bequests carried out, apart from the one for Peter Pettigrew," Harry requested, bitter at the thought of the traitor receiving 500 galleons. Jangrak nodded.

"That can be carried out with ease."

"Is there any way that I can move into one of my many properties? I have, until currently, been in the care of the two people specified as to not be my guardians under any circumstances."

"You would not be able to live alone, but if you contact one of the potential guardians listed, one of them would probably be willing to take guardianship of you," Jangrak explained. Harry nodded. He read the will again, realising that the will named Peter as the Secret Keeper. If it hadn't of been sealed, Sirius would never have gone to Azkaban.

"Is there a way that I can take this will, or a copy of it with me?" Harry asked.

"As Heir Potter you are able to take it with you. Is there anything else you need?" Jangrak said.

"Not at the moment, no. I will probably be back later in the year to visit my vaults, but at the present time, I have some other things to deal with. Thank you for your help Jangrak," Harry said. He stood up, giving a small bow to the goblin behind the desk.

"Of course, Mr Potter. It was a pleasure," Jangrak said, standing up and giving a bow in return. Harry turned to leave but stopped in the doorway.

"Please Jangrak, it's Harry," he said with a smile, before turning around and leaving the room. He needed to contact the ministry. He quickly made his way to his room. He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, along with an inkpot and sat at his desk. He thought over how to word his request, before finally starting to write.

_I would like to speak with someone in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I have recently become informed of an arrest that was made 12 years ago and would like to find out the information regarding the arrest, as well as the records from the trial. I also have some evidence that I am almost certain wasn't available when the trial was conducted and was hoping to present the evidence to someone that could use it in a way that would benefit many._

_Harry Potter._

He attached the letter to Hedwig, who had arrived that morning. As soon as the letter was tied securely to her leg, she took off out the open window. He then pulled out some homework, deciding to do it in Diagon Alley while he waited for a reply. He was finishing his second essay, this one for Charms while the other had been for Transfiguration, when Hedwig landed in front of him. A reply was tied to her leg and he untied it, eager to read the reply. He stroked Hedwig's feathers gently and she nipped his finger in affection before flying off. He unfolded the reply, placing it on the table in front of him, on top of his completed essay.

_Harry Potter,_

_I am curious to what evidence you have found and which arrest and trial you are referring to. I am free to meet with you at 2pm this Thursday. My office is on level two, down the second corridor on the right from the lift exit._

_Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement._

Harry was startled to receive a reply from the head of the department, but glad none the less. The meeting was set for two days time. He nodded to himself, that would work well. Hopefully soon, Sirius would be cleared of all charges and free to take on guardianship of him.

That Thursday couldn't come quick enough. He spent his time at one of the tables in Diagon Alley, doing homework, or shopping for new supplies. He had replied to Madam Bones, confirming that Thursday at 2 worked for him, and asking the best way to get to the ministry, as he was a minor. She had suggested the floo system. Harry had grimaced at that, remembering his last time using the floo. But it was better than the Knight Bus.

At quarter to two on Thursday, Harry made his way to the floo system in the Leaky Cauldron, his parents' will safely in his pocket. He stepped through the floo, calling out for the Ministry of Magic, and was deposited in a large hall. He gathered it was the atrium. He made his way over to the visitors desk, where he had his wand weighed. He then made his up to Madam Bones office following the instructions from her first letter. He was glad that he had left 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting, as it was 1:59 by the time he reached the door to Madam Bones' office. He knocked on the door and was called in. The office was simple, a desk in the middle of the room with a bookshelf and various filing cabinets lining the walls. He took a seat in front of the desk, opposite Madam Bones.

"Mr Potter, it's good to meet you," Madam Bones said.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me Madam. I recently found out that Sirius Black was named my godfather and should have taken custody of me after the death of my parents. I learned that he had been arrested but wasn't able to find many details about his crime. I was wondering if you have the documents from his trial that I could look over," he said. Madam Bones nodded.

"I can tell you now that Sirius Black was arrested for the murder of 13 people, 12 muggles and one wizard. He was also convicted of betraying your parents to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, telling him the location of the house they were in. I will see if I can find the details about his trial," Madam Bones explained.

"I'm sorry, but why would it matter that Sirius had told Voldemort where my parents were?" he asked, feigning confusion. Madam Bones flinched slightly at the name, but the reaction was barely there.

"Sirius Black was the secret keeper for your parents, who were hidden in Godric's Hallow under the Fidelius Charm, meaning that only he could tell anyone the location of their house." Madam Bones had moved from her seat behind the desk, going through one of the filing cabinets along the walls. The filing cabinet she was going through was labelled 1981, the year that Voldemort had fallen.

"That makes sense, Madam Bones, except for one thing. Sirius Black wasn't the secret keeper for my parents," he said. At his words, Madam Bones turned to face him, a look of shock evident on her face.

"What do you mean Mr Potter?" she asked.

"I recently met with the Potter account manager at Gringotts and was able to unseal my parents' will, which had been sealed upon their deaths. As Heir Potter, I had the authority to unseal the will. And it named someone else as the Secret Keeper," he explained. He pulled the will out of his pocket, handing it over to Madam Bones. She took the will, unrolling it and reading it quickly. Her eyes widened as she reached the bequests, seeing the mention of the secret keeper that he had referred to. The will clearly named Peter Pettigrew as the secret keeper.

"I am assuming that this is the evidence you mentioned in your letter?" she asked. Harry nodded.

"I knew that Sirius was convicted just after the deaths of my parents and thought that the will might be useful in either negating a crime or further solidifying the fact of his guilt."

"This would definitely change things. I will see about having a follow up trial, and try to get into contact with Black, considering he recently escaped from Azkaban. Now, I just need to find the documents about his first trial." She began leafing through the filing cabinet as Harry waited, watching her work. She finished looking through all the documents in that cabinet, looking up.

"It appears that a follow up trial won't be necessary, Mr Potter. Sirius Black didn't receive a trial to begin with, it would appear. I will try to contact him and notify you when his trial date is set. I have no doubt that you would want to be there," she stated. Harry nodded.

"Thank you for that Madam Bones. Even if he is still found guilty of murder, it would be nice to get some closure about it all," he said.

"It is no trouble Mr Potter. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Harry smiled, standing up. He left the room, making his way to the atrium and managing to not get lost. He flooed back to the Leaky Cauldron, happy with how the meeting had gone. Soon, Sirius would be able to be his guardian.


	3. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm bringing this story over from Wattpad so the updates will be pretty regular and simply when I have time to bring the next chapter over until I catch up to where I've published on Wattpad.

The rest of the week went by quickly. Soon, Harry received two letters. One from Padfoot, informing him that the ministry had contacted him, asking for him to appear at a certain location on Friday, so that they could take him in for a trial, as they had found information that showed he had never received one in the first place. The second was from Madam Bones, informing him that the trial for his godfather would take place on Friday, at 2 o'clock.

That Friday, just over a week after his meeting with Madam Bones, Harry made his way to the ministry again. He left at one thirty, so that he would have plenty of time to find the courtroom and a good seat.

Arriving at the ministry, he made his way to the visitors desk and asked for directions to the courtroom that Sirius trial would take place in.

"The trial you're here for is in courtroom 10. Take the lift down to level 9 and the stairs to level 10. The courtroom you need is down the corridor, towards the end." Harry nodded and thanked the witch behind the desk. He made his way to the lift and waited patiently as he was carried down to level 9. The walk to courtroom ten wasn't long, but it wasn't short either.

The corridors were dark and reminded him of the dungeons at Hogwarts. He reached the door labelled Courtroom 10 and entered the open door. It was ten to two now, and the courtroom already had people sitting in there. Many seats along behind the judges seat were already full, as were seats in the viewing section. There were a few journalists present, cameras ready and quills poised. Harry made his way to the viewing section, taking a seat next to a ragged looking man. A quick glance stirred a memory within him, just like what had happened the first time he had seen Sirius.

The man was sitting on the couch, talking with his mother, as he played on the ground with his father. He couldn't quite hear what his mother and the man were saying, but he did hear his father refer to the man as Moony a few times. The memory drew to a close as the man left, his parents bidding goodbye to him.

"See you next week Remus," his mother said, just as the memory disappeared.

He carefully studied the man that was listed as a potential guardian for him. Where had he been all these years? There was quiet talk occurring around the room, and he took the opportunity to introduce himself to his parents' friend.

"Hi. I seem to distantly remember you from somewhere," he said. The man, Remus, turned to look at him, startled slightly.

"Harry? I wasn't expecting to see you here," he said.

"You're Remus, right? I can't remember much, but you were friends with my parents, right?" Harry said.

"Yes. Your parents were wonderful people, Harry. I'm sorry that you didn't get to know them."

"Thank you. Were you close with Sirius too?"

"Why do you ask?" Remus asked.

"Because if you weren't, you wouldn't be here," he said. Remus sighed slightly.

"You're right. Sirius and I were quite close. I didn't ever expect him to betray Lily and James like he did, or that he would murder that many people. I just needed the closure," Remus admitted.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here too. The closure. But I have a feeling that you will be surprised by the outcome of today," Harry said. Before Remus could reply, Madam Bones banged her gavel on the bench, silencing the crowd.

"Bring in the accused," she stated. The doors were flung open and Sirius was dragged in, one guard on either side. He didn't look any worse than the last time Harry had seen him, which he was happy about. Sirius sat down in the chair in the middle of the room and chains immediately snaked around his wrists, binding him to the chair.

"Sirius Black you are charged with murdering 13 innocents and betraying Lily and James Potter to the Dark Lord. How do you plead?" Madam Bones asked. She didn't speak loudly, but the silence in the room allowed her voice to carry and be heard by everyone. Sirius looked up, staring right at the judge.

"Not Guilty," he stated, his voice hoarse. This statement brought cries of outrage from the people sitting behind the judge and Harry saw Remus flinch in shock beside him. Madam Bones banged her gavel again, quieting the crowd.

"Do you consent to the use of veritaserum?" she asked. Sirius nodded. "Administer the potion." One of the guards that had brought Sirius in moved forward, tipping a bottle with clear liquid in it over Sirius' mouth, allowing three drops to hit the man's tongue. Immediately, Sirius' eyes glazed over slightly.

"What is your name?" Madam Bones asked.

"Sirius Orion Black," he answered, his voice monotone.

"Were you the secret keeper for the Potters?"

"No." From beside Harry, Remus gasped slightly.

"Who was?"

"Peter Pettigrew. We switched in secret, thinking that the Death Eaters would come after me instead."

"What happened on November 1st, 1981?"

"I found the house in ruins and knew that Pettigrew had betrayed Lily and James. I went after him, determined to confront him and ask why. But when I cornered him, he started yelling for everyone to hear. He loudly exclaimed about how I had betrayed Lily and James. His wand was behind his back and he blew apart the street, escaping down the sewers," Sirius said. Throughout his explanation, Remus had tensed more and more beside Harry.

"How did he escape down the sewers?"

"He is an unregistered animagus, with the form of a rat." Harry was glad that the question hadn't made Sirius revel that he was an animagus too.

"And why were you found laughing like a maniac when aurors arrived?"

"I was in shock. I had lost someone who was like a brother to me and been betrayed by one of my best friends. I didn't know any way to deal with it."

"Administer the antidote," Madam Bones instructed. Another potion was poured onto Sirius' tongue and his eyes returned to normal. He slumped in his chair, while the people behind Madam Bones discussed the proceedings in hushed voices. Remus turned to Harry.

"You knew?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"I met with my account manager just under two weeks ago, to discuss certain things. While there, I was able to open my parents' will, which had never been read and was sealed 2 months after they died. In the bequests, it named Peter as the secret keeper. I vaguely knew about Sirius' conviction and contacted the ministry about it. I asked them to see the documents of the trial, so that I could understand why I hadn't been living with my godfather. Madam Bones couldn't find the documents, because he didn't receive a trial. And the will was enough evidence to show that he was at least innocent of one of his crimes," he explained. Remus nodded, turning to face the front as the group behind Madam Bones came to a decision.

"The jury has declared you innocent of all charges. To repay you for your wrongful time in Azkaban, you will be given 50000 galleons, as well as full access to ministry healers. We would recommend not going out in public for a week or so, to give the public time to come to terms with your innocence. Your wand is currently waiting for you in the evidence room," Madam Bones declared. The binding around Sirius' arms retracted, freeing him from the chair. He stood up but remained where he was as the jury and reporters filed out. Harry and Remus left the room as well but waited outside for Sirius to emerge. He had remained in there for a quick word with Madam Bones, but came out quickly enough, looking pleased; he had a suspicion that Sirius had been asking about registering his Animagus form.

He headed towards Harry, stopping when he saw Remus standing there as well.

"Hey Moony," he said.

"Pads," Remus replied. And before Harry knew it, the two men were hugging each other. And if he wasn't mistaken, the hug lasted longer than one simply between friends.

"Where are you going to stay Padfoot?" Remus asked as he pulled away from the hug.

"I could go back to Grimmauld Place. It's rightfully mine, as the last Black," he said. Harry could hear the hesitant note in his voice.

"Nah, you're coming to Potter Manor," Harry said cheerfully. Both men turned to look at him.

"What? A key was left to you in my parents' will, saying you were always family. Plus, I was planning on living there and I need to have a guardian living with me," he said. It might seem weird to some, that he was so willing to live with people who were basically strangers. But he could vaguely remember them, and his parents had named them as potential guardians. Plus, he would do anything to get away from the Dursley's.

"What about the people you've been living with. Won't they worry when you don't come home?" Remus asked. Harry and Sirius exchanged a grim look but didn't reply.

"Come one, let's get going. I'll pick up my wand and then we can head to Gringotts to get that key. You're welcome to join us Moony," Sirius said.

"I'll be heading home, but I might come visit," Remus replied. Harry and Sirius headed off to the evidence room while Remus left for the atrium. It didn't take long for them to find Sirius' wand, and soon they were making their way to Diagon Alley.

Sirius apparated them to an alley in muggle London, close to the Leaky Cauldron. He then transformed into a dog and trotted behind Harry as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry passed through quickly, heading straight out to Diagon Alley. From there, they swiftly made their way to Gringotts and requested a meeting with Jangrak, if he was available. A goblin led Harry and Padfoot to Jangrak's office, bowing before walking away. Harry and Padfoot entered the room. As soon as the door was closed, Padfoot became Sirius.

"Jangrak, it is a pleasure to see you again," Harry greeted.

"You as well Harry. And Mr Black, it has been a while."

"It has. I have recently been cleared of all charges and would like to claim my Lordship, if that isn't too much trouble," Sirius replied. Jangrak was the account manager of both the Black family and the Potter family, something that was quite convenient for them. Jangrak nodded and the ceremony was quickly performed.

"Is there anything we need to do to make Sirius my legal guardian?" Harry asked.

"As Lord Black is listed as your first-choice guardian in your parents will, and he is your godfather, you simply have to sign this paper," Jangrak said, handing a piece of parchment over to them. Harry and Sirius quickly read through it, before using a Blood Quill to sign it, legalising and cementing the guardianship.

"In their will, my parents left Sirius a key to Potter Manor. Where would that key be?" Harry asked.

"When we carried out the bequests, the key was placed in Lord Black's personal vault. There is also a keyring in the main Potter vault that holds a copy of all the keys to all the properties that the Potters own," Jangrak explained.

"Thank you Jangrak," Sirius said.

"Yes, thank you for your help. Would we be able to visit both the main Potter vault and Sirius' personal vault? I would like to see if there are any books I can pick up from in the vault," Harry requested.

"I can do that for you Harry," Jangrak agreed.

"Thank you," Harry said, bowing as Jangrak stood. Jangrak gave a bow in return, before leading them down to the vaults. Sirius grabbed the key from his vault, slipping it into his pocket. In the main Potter vault, Harry found a few books on wizarding law and politics that he thought looked interesting. He grabbed them, and Sirius shrunk them to make them easier to carry in his pocket. They made their way out of Gringotts, Sirius becoming a dog again before moving into the public. They went to the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry gathered his stuff and checked out, thanking Tom for the room.

When they reached the alleyway they had appeared in, Sirius became human again and grabbed Harry's arm. Sirius apparated them to Potter Manor and Harry gasped at the sight of the manor. It was huge. He instantly knew that he would enjoy living here and that this place would soon become his home. A home that Privet Drive had never been.


	4. Back to School

The last two weeks of the summer holidays were the best that Harry had ever had. He loved living with Sirius and Remus, Remus having moved in during the second week after much pleading from both Harry and Sirius. They were both fun and quite the pranksters. But they were also caring and strict enough that Harry felt loved and safe, but not restricted. He had met up with Ron and Hermione at Diagon Alley during the last week of the holidays. He hadn't mentioned his living situation, though they did talk about Sirius' innocence.

It was a shock for Harry when he found Remus asleep in the last compartment of the train; he hadn't mentioned anything about coming to Hogwarts. All the other compartments were full, so he dragged his trunk in, followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Who is he?" Ron asked.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione said instantly. Harry had begun to open his mouth, but she had beaten him.

"How'd you know that?" Ron demanded.

"It's on his trunk Ronald," she sighed. Ron then turned to Harry.

"You looked like you were going to answer. Do you know him, or did you just read his trunk?"

"I know him. He was friends with my parents," Harry said. Hermione looked sympathetic while Ron stared.

"Is he asleep?" Ron asked.

"I think so," Hermione answered. Harry figured he was. He had had a long night last night, according to Sirius. Remus had visited them at Potter Manor a lot during the first week they had lived there, he had practically moved in already by the time they had started pleading, and he had seen how close the two of them were. He wouldn't have been surprised to find out they were dating.

The train ride passed uneventfully, unless you counted Malfoy's expected visit. He hadn't stayed long though, when he noticed that Remus was in the compartment. Remus had woken up near the end of the trip, smiling at Harry before leaving to talk to the conductor. They stopped at the station and tried to get out of the train through the rush of students.

They climbed into the horseless carriages, talking about subjects for the year. Hermione was somehow taking all the electives, but Harry didn't see how she could be. Then again, it was Hermione. He figured she would drop Muggle Studies by the end of the year, if what Sirius had told him was true. It was apparently extremely outdated, the book that was listed on the booklist was the same one needed when Sirius was in school.

They sat with Neville, Dean and Seamus, along with Lavender and Parvati. Ginny had also sat with them. The sorting didn't take long, but he was sure it felt like forever for the first years. The feast passed as it always did, and Dumbledore's speech was the same as it was in their first year, although he warned them about the dementors who were still stationed around the caste, as the ministry hadn't gotten around to removing them yet and were saying that they were still a safety precaution with Pettigrew on the loose. As they walked back towards the common room, Harry started up a conversation with Ginny. He had noticed that she was walking just behind their group, rather than with any friends from her year level. She probably hadn't been able to make many friends last year, with everything going on with the diary.

"Have a good holiday Ginny?" he asked, falling back a bit to walk with her.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. Nothing much happened though. How about you?" she replied.

"Oh, it was better than normal. I got out of a terrible household and found two people who really care about me," he answered. They continued talking as they walked up to the tower, speaking of what classes they were looking forward to that year. Ginny had similar interests to him, although she preferred Transfiguration over Charms, while he was the opposite. Harry found talking to Ginny really easy. He hoped that he could build a friendship between them.

The first few days passed quickly and soon it was time for their first DADA lesson. Harry was looking forward to seeing how Remus taught and knew without a doubt that he would be a much better teacher than the last two that they had had, not that there was much competition. They entered the room, finding that Professor Lupin wasn't there. The class sat down at the tables, books out in front of them. Professor Lupin arrived just as the bell rang. He stayed at the back of the classroom as he spoke.

"Books away. Today will be a practical lesson and you will only need your wand. Follow me." Everyone packed their books into their bags and followed Professor Lupin out of the room. He led them to the staffroom, showing them all inside. Harry winced inwardly at the rude remark that Snape made about Neville as he left the room. It was bad enough that Snape bullied Neville in his own class, let alone in front of another teacher.

The wardrobe near the back of the room banged, rocking around slightly, causing a few students to jump in surprise. Harry turned his gaze on the wardrobe and could make out the shape of magic concentrated in the middle of the wardrobe. Whatever was inside didn't have a definite shape yet.

"Nothing to worry about. There's a boggart in there," Professor Lupin said. "Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?" Hermione's hand shot up and Professor Lupin nodded at her.

"A boggart is a shape shifter. It takes the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most," she answered. That would be why the trace of magic in the wardrobe kept moving and shifting, almost fluid-like.

"Good. Now, the thing that defeats a boggart is laughter. You have to force the boggart to take the shape of something funny, rather than scary. The incantation is simple, but the spell requires a force of mind. The incantation is ridikulus." The class repeated the incantation a few times before Professor Lupin got them all to form a line behind Neville.

The wardrobe opened and Professor Snape stepped out. He stalked towards Neville until Neville cried,

"Ridikulus." Snape stumbled and was forced into witch's robes, a red handbag hanging from his arm and a stuffed vulture hat sitting atop his head. The class burst out laughing. The line moved forward, all of Harry's classmates facing the boggart.

It was a severed hand for Dean, a bloodstained mummy for Parvati. A spider for Ron, a banshee for Seamus. Soon it was Harry's turn. He stood in front of the Boggart, watching as it changed shape in front of him. Before him, was a door that he knew all too well. The door of his cupboard. He froze at the sight. The slight bloodstains he could see around the door from all the times he had been shoved in there while bleeding heavily brought back memories that he wasn't ready to face, especially not in front of his class.

"Ridikulus," he managed to get out. The door became brightly coloured, neon pink with green polka dots, which made his class laugh. So, he moved out of the way, seeing as he had succeeded. But, even brightly coloured, it was still the door to his cupboard. It still had the bloodstains that only he could see, still held the horrid memories that he had thought he had put in the past. As soon as the bell rang, he bolted out of the room, ignoring the calls of Remus and his friends, needing to get away from the stares before he succumbed to the memories.

He made it to the common room, collapsing in a chair in the corner, out of sight from most of the room. He was glad that that had been the last class of the day as he didn't think he would have made it through any more classes. He tried to push back the swirl of memories that were threatening to overwhelm his mind, but brief flashes of the worst ones still came. Tears rolled silently down his face and he didn't even notice someone appearing in front of him.

"Harry? Are you ok?" came the soft voice of Ginny. He wiped his eyes, managing to look up enough to meet her brown eyes.

"Bad memories," he replied softly.

"Do you want to talk about them?" she asked quietly. He thought for a moment, before nodding and gesturing up to his dorm.

"Can we do it in private?" She nodded and he stood up, leading her up to the third-year dorms. He sat on his bed while Ginny sat on Ron's, facing him.

"What brought these memories up?" she asked.

"DADA. We did Boggarts," he said quietly.

"Yeah, that would bring up bad memories. I've never faced one before, but I've heard what they do. Do you want to talk about the memories?" Harry nodded, somehow feeling safe enough to tell Ginny something that he hadn't told anyone before. He breathed in slowly and deeply. When he released his breath, he began to tell her everything.

He told her about growing up, sleeping in a cupboard. How he had believed his name to be Freak or Boy until he was five. About the nights he spent going hungry, or the nights he didn't sleep so much as simply fall unconscious. He told her about all the chores he was made to do, and the punishments for not completing them to the standards of his Uncle. He told her how it had become worse after discovering he was a wizard. How he was locked in his room, only allowed out once a day. About how he had been pushed so far that he had ended up running away. He was surprised how easy he found it to talk to her.

"But I managed to find a guardian who was meant to take me in the first place, and I have a home now. And I thought I could just leave it all in the past," he finished.

"You had to grow up too quickly. And when you finally think you can be a child again it all comes rushing back in a different way. And you try to put it behind you, but you can't. Because it is a part of you, no matter how much you hate it. It is a part of what made you who you are today," Ginny said.

"Why did you want to help. I shouldn't have burdened you with this," he whispered.

"Harry, you haven't burdened me with anything. It's not healthy to keep it all bottled up inside, and I offered to listen. Plus, you saved me from Tom. It's only fair I save you from your memories."

"When did you get so smart?" he asked.

"When I had to grow up too quickly. After last year, I thought I could put it all behind me. That I would just be able to forget about it, leave it in the past. But what Tom did to me affected me, more than I had realised. And I keep visiting the Chamber in my nightmares, reliving opening the chamber, being forced against my will, almost dying. And, even if the nightmares never go away, even if I am still terrified of what happened, I've accepted that it's a part of me. And I can live with that, because I wouldn't be the same if that hadn't of happened." Harry nodded, that made sense.

"If you ever want to talk about last year, I'd be happy to listen," he offered.

"Thank you. The same offer stands for you. If you ever want to talk about your memories, or about anything, I'm happy to listen," Ginny replied.

"Thank you. It's easier to talk to you about it for some reason," he admitted.

"I was thinking the same thing."

The rest of the term passed quickly and was pretty uneventful. That was, unless you counted Remus recognising Scabbers as Wormtail and the amount of shock that caused, as well as the presence of the dementors and his extreme reaction to them. They had simply stolen Scabbers and made Ron think he had run off. No point telling Ron he had kept a grown man who was meant to be dead as a pet. Remus had also taken it on himself to teach Harry the Patronus charm so he could defend himself against the dementors, considering he had collapsed when he got too near one on the way to Hogsmeade; even though it wasn't needed now considering the dementors had been removed after Pettigrew was captured, Harry was glad to have learnt the ability.

Harry regretted taking Divination after the first week but wasn’t able to change subjects (he had asked). But other than that, he was enjoying his classes. He had talked with Ginny a few times over the months and had listened to her rant as well. He really liked how their friendship was progressing, how close they had gotten over just a few months. But he beginning to think about her in a different way. He still thought of her as a friend, but he also thought about her as more.

He had a crush on Ginny Weasley, he realised. And he had no clue what to do about that.


	5. Fangirls and Fanboys

Harry spent his free time in the term between Christmas and Easter trying to work out his crush. He knew that he was developing feelings for her, that he was starting to think of her as more than just Ron's little sister, or more than just a friend. He enjoyed spending time with her, found it easier to talk to her about things. And he was pretty sure she felt the same way.

The thing was, she was only 12, him only 13. Many people would probably think they were too young to date, too young for any kind of relationship. But for some reason, Harry thought that any relationship they had would last.

And, Ginny wasn't really 12. Not in her mind. Her body may be that of a 12-year-old, but she was forced to grow up too quickly, become an adult and face problems that not many adults can even handle. And he was similar. Forced to grow up too quickly, to deal with the bad hand he had been given in life. So maybe, for them, it wouldn't be too soon, even if it would be for everyone else.

He finally managed to talk to Ginny about how he felt during the Easter holidays. They were having one of their venting sessions, where they just talked about whatever they needed to get off their mind. They had one roughly every two weeks, or more if needed.

"I'm really confused about feelings Gin. I mean, why do I feel the way I do about so many things. Some things that should be harmless make me freeze up, terrified. Things that should be dangerous, like the dives I do on the Quidditch pitch, make me full of a want to do it again. Feelings are just confusing," he said, lying on his bed in the basically empty dorm and staring at the ceiling.

"Well, the part about freezing up at something harmless is normal. It's ingrained in your brain to be a source of pain and so you try to avoid it. It's the same for me when I see a diary, especially a young girl writing in a diary," she replied from her seat at the end of his bed, leaning against the bed post. She waved her hand, indicating that he could continue.

"And then there's my feelings about people. Ron and Hermione, I understand how I feel towards them. I have a close friendship with them, close enough to be siblings. It's my feelings towards you that are difficult. At first, you were just Ron's little sister and I had a small amount of fondness towards you. And then you were my friend, and it was like how I felt with Ron and Hermione. But now, it's changed again. I think I have a crush on you, but I'm not sure what to do about it. I don't even know if that's what it is, even if I'm pretty sure it is," he finished. Ginny looked stunned for a second before she managed a reply.

"How does it make you feel? How would you describe it?" Harry thought for a moment, trying to pinpoint exactly how it felt.

"It's a warm feeling, like the feeling I get with Ron and Hermione, but mixed with the feelings I get from Siri and Remus. It fills me up when I'm around you and sometimes butterflies appear in my stomach," he explained slowly, trying to aptly explain how he felt.

"Well, that does sound a like a crush, but I can't tell you what is going on in your mind and heart. The question is, what do you want to do about it? I'll tell you now, I've had a crush on you for ages. It started as a fangirl crush, but after getting to know you this year, it's become an actual crush."

"I want to do something about it, I'm just not exactly sure what. But so many people will think that you're too young to be dating or that we are rushing into things even if we're not." He sighed, frustrated.

"Since when have you cared about what other people think? If it's what you and I want, then it's fine," Ginny said. Harry considered the question, and realised she had a point.

"But what would your mother say?" he asked. Ginny winced slightly.

"Yeah, we won't tell her until sometime next year at the earliest," she decided. Harry smiled.

"So, how do we do this?"

"I think we ease into it. Just, physical affection at the moment. Cuddling and whatnot. We can figure it out as we go. But I don't really want to tell anyone. Not yet at least," Ginny decided. Harry nodded.

"That sounds good. And you're right. You have four overprotective brothers here and I don't want to get on their bad side. It will be slightly better without Percy here. Just take it slow for now?" he asked. Ginny nodded and moved closer to him on the bed, snuggling into his side where he was now sitting against the headrest, so that she was cuddled into his side. Harry wrapped one arm around her shoulder, hugging her close to him. It just felt right, to have Ginny in his arms. He was glad that he had talked to her.

The next day, Harry was pulled into an alcove by Fred and George as he made his way to the library.

"Do you guys want something?" he asked. They looked at each other, nodding once, before turning back to him.

"Well dear Harry," George began.

"It turns out we do want something," Fred continued.

"Or more like give you something."

"We feel you will make good use of it."

"Ok, what is it and why do you think I'll need it?" Harry asked. Fred pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and held it in front of him. Harry studied the remnants of magic, the spells and enchantments woven into the vary parchment itself. It was covered in four different colours; four different people's magics. He recognised two of them, but he didn't pay enough attention to people's magic to be able to pinpoint who's they were.

"This is the secret to our success," Fred said.

"We thought it would be fitting to pass it on to someone with more time left at Hogwarts, so that they too, could use it to wreak havoc," George finished.

"And you chose me?" Harry asked. Both twins nodded. "Ok, how does it work?" George pulled out his wand and tapped the piece of parchment, saying,

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Ink appeared all over the page, spreading in spiderweb like lines. It didn't take long for Harry to realise it was a map of Hogwarts. At the top of the page was writing.

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders Map," Harry read.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, we owe them so much," George said.

"Tireless pranksters working to aid future rule-breakers," Fred agreed.

"We gift it to you. We have it basically memorised anyway." Fred held the map out to Harry, and he took it, watching the little dots moving around the castle.

"Just remember to tap it and say, 'Mischief Managed' otherwise anyone can read it," George instructed. Harry smiled at the looks on their faces as they talked about the Marauders. They really seemed to look up to the group. He smirked as an idea came to mind. He wiped the map, folding it up and placing it in his pocket before looking at the twins again.

"What would you say if I told you I knew who the Marauders were?" he asked, before running away, laughing at their expressions. He made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, knowing that Fred and George would be close behind him. He sat down in one of the armchairs and waited. Soon enough, George burst through the portrait hole, followed by Fred. They made their way over to him before demanding him to spill.

"I can't just give out secrets like that though. Let me just owl Padfoot, asking if it's alright to tell you guys," he told them. Honestly, he knew Sirius would be overjoyed to meet the two people that had found the map and worked out how to use it.

"You know how to contact Padfoot?" George asked.

"What about the other three?" Fred asked.

"That's a secret, boys," he replied. "Now, I have a letter to write."

On the way to the owlery, Harry stopped by Professor Lupin's office. He found him sitting behind the desk, marking essays. He knocked on the door before walking in.

"Ah Harry, how can I help you?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Well, I just had two people give me a certain map. I was wondering if you recognised it?" he said idly, pulling the map out of his pocket. He placed it in front of Remus and Remus' eyes widened. He pulled out his wand, activating the map.

"We thought this was gone for good," he said.

"The Weasley twins have been using it since their first year, I think. It's how they get away with all their pranks. I may have let slip that I know who the Marauders are. Would you be inclined to let them know that you're Moony?"

"At the end of the year, yes," Remus replied.

"That's fine. I told them that I was going to owl Padfoot, asking if it's ok to tell them who the Marauders are. I can just pretend the reply took forever."

"Sirius is going to go crazy when he realises that you have the map. You know this, yes?"

"Of course. Why do you think I'm telling him now, via a letter, rather than face to face at the end of the year. Give him time to cool down."

"You should probably go send that letter then."

"Ok. I'll see you in class," Harry said, picking up the map and wiping it.

"Bye Harry," Remus replied, before becoming Professor Lupin again and going back to marking essays. Harry sent the letter off with Hedwig, before going to find Ginny. She had mentioned being on the grounds for the whole day if he wanted to join her. He found her sitting in a tree near the lake, reading. He climbed the tree as well, perching on a branch next to hers.

"You look comfortable," he commented. Ginny jumped slightly, turning to face him with a scowl.

"Hello Harry," she said, before turning back to her book. Harry watched her as she read, smiling at how peaceful she looked while immersed in the story. He leant back against the trunk of the tree, content to just sit there and enjoy Ginny's company.

The rest of the term passed without incident, especially now that the ministry had gotten around to removing the dementors; it was easier to breath and relax without their cold presence. Harry and Ginny continued to get closer, and slowly deepened their relationship, even if they kept it secret. Harry was glad that he had taken the step to tell Ginny how he felt, because he was happiest when they were alone together.

He had gotten a reply from Sirius not long after he sent the letter. Sirius had been ecstatic that two pranksters had found the map. He had kept the letter secret, not wanting to tell the twins yet. But, as the end of year exams came to a close, he decided it was time to let them in on the secret.

He found the twins easily, using the map, and made his way to the hidden alcove they were in.

"Hello gentlemen. I thought I should tell you that Padfoot finally replied," he said as he entered their hiding place.

"Really? What did he say?" they asked in sync.

"Well, he said that it was fine to tell people who they are."

"So, who are they."

"Come on, I'll show you," he said. He grabbed Fred's left arm and George's right, pulling them out of the alcove. He led them through the corridors until they came to a stop outside Professor Lupin's office. He knocked and entered, dragging the twins behind him.

"Harry, why are we in Professor Lupin's office?" George asked.

"Yeah, you said you were showing us who the marauders were," Fred whined in agreement.

"I am," he replied, before turning to face the professor who was sitting behind the desk.

"Hey Moony, I thought that these two would like to meet you," he said. Remus looked up and smiled at the awe-struck look on the twins faces.

"You're Moony?" they asked.

"The one and only. I must say, I am impressed that you managed to get our map to work for you. Not many would be able to figure it out," Remus replied. The twins fell to their knees in front of Remus, in a bowing position.

"We are not worthy to be in your presence," they said together. Remus laughed and Harry sighed.

"Get up guys," he said. The twins obliged, getting to their feet but remaining silent.

"It makes so much sense now," Fred gasped.

"The way you were able to avoid all our pranks," George agreed. Remus shrugged.

"So, who are the other marauders?" Fred asked, turning to look at Harry.

"You said you knew who they all were," George added.

"That's for Moony to tell you. Or not. I've got to go pack now. Bye," he said. He hurriedly left the room, hearing the twins begging Remus to tell them who the other marauders were. He laughed at Remus' misfortune, before heading back to his dorm to finish packing his trunk. The train left the day after tomorrow after all.


	6. Going Home

Harry was the only one in the dorm that he shared with Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus. The other boys had all finished packing or were going to pack after dinner. They were leaving the next day. Harry was looking forward to the holidays for the first time ever, but he was also sad to be leaving Hogwarts again. Hogwarts had been his first home and he never enjoyed leaving. Plus, he didn't know if he would be able to see Ginny until the new school year. He thought he would be able to, Sirius would probably let him have friends over, but he just wasn't sure.

He threw his last book into the trunk and was just closing it when he heard someone enter the room. He turned around to see Ginny standing in the doorway.

"Hey, I wanted to give you a goodbye gift," Ginny said softly.

"We don't leave until tomorrow. And we will be together the whole train ride," Harry replied, confused.

"This isn't something I can give you in front of others," she said. She walked further into the room, closing the door behind her. Harry sat on his bed and watched Ginny move slowly towards him. She seemed hesitant. Like she wanted to do something, but wasn't sure if she should.

"And what is this gift?" he asked when she was standing right in front of him. She didn't reply, instead sitting down next to him. He turned to face her.

"This," she said, before leaning in. Ginny's lips brushed over his. She pulled away slightly, but Harry moved forward. He kissed her this time. It was more than just a brush of lips, but still a chaste kiss. When they pulled away, Harry looked down at his lap, trying to think of what to say. And gasped. A thin line of magic had appeared, coming out of his chest, right over his heart. His eyes followed the string of magic, seeing the other end coming from Ginny. Right over her heart.

"Can you see that?" Harry asked.

"I can't see it, so much as sense that something's there, connecting us." Harry watched the string as it seemed to strengthen, growing slightly thicker and brighter. It glowed gold, with a tinge of pink. It was beautiful. He moved his hand to the part of the string over his heart. He touched the string and felt a happiness spread through him. He looked over to Ginny, who was touching the string as well.

"What does it look like?" she asked.

"It's like a string of magic, connecting us together. It's growing slightly, like it's strengthening. It's glowing gold and slightly pink," he replied.

"What does it mean?" Ginny whispered.

"I don't know. But it can't be anything bad," he replied, just as softly. "We can see if we can find any information over the break."

"That sounds good. I'll miss you over the break." Ginny sighed.

"I'll see if you can visit. My godfather should let you."

"I'd like that." And then, Ginny leaned in, kissing him again. It was just a brief kiss, before she stood up, leaving him along in the room. Harry couldn't help but think that he would gladly spend the rest of his life with her. And maybe, he was falling in love.

The train ride the next day passed quickly. They spent the whole ride playing games, chess and exploding snap mainly. They all got off the train, easily finding Mrs Weasley. She hugged them all in turn, asking how the term was and other such things. Harry looked around for Remus. Sirius had said that Remus would pick him up, considering he would be coming from Hogwarts as well.

"Who are you looking for Harry," Ron asked.

"One of my guardians," he replied absently. Then he spotted Remus standing off to the side slightly, out of the way of most of the crowd.

"Moony. I'm over here," he called, waving his hand. Remus saw him and started moving towards the group.

"Moony's one of your guardians?" Fred asked.

"Yeah. Padfoot's my other one," he said cheekily.

"You live with two Marauders," George gasped. He nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Hey Harry. Padfoot is waiting for us at home. He said that dinner would be ready when we get there," Remus said when he reached the group.

"We should get going then. Where are your parents Hermione?" Harry said.

"Oh, they said they both had to work late today. But I don't live far from here, so I'll just walk," she replied.

"Ok then, if you say so," he said. He hugged her tight. He then moved on to Ron. He hugged Ginny last.

"Owl me if you find anything," he whispered in her ear. She nodded slightly.

"You too," she replied quietly. He pulled away and smiled confirmation at her.

"I'll write. And maybe you can come over to visit during the holidays," he said to the group as a whole. With one last wave, he took hold of Remus' arm, his trunk tightly held in his other hand. Remus held Hedwig's cage. Remus twisted on his heel, apparating them both back to Potter Manor.

"Padfoot, we're home," Remus called out from the entrance hall. Sirius appeared from the door leading into the living room.

"It's good to see you. Did you have a good year?" Sirius asked.

"It was good Padfoot. We won the Quidditch cup and the house cup," Harry said. Sirius hugged him.

"That's great pup. How did you deal with being a teacher Moony?"

"It was fine. But I told Dumbledore that I wanted a year off to spend more time with you. I'll take the post again, just not next year," Remus replied.

"What. But you're a great teacher," Harry exclaimed.

"It will only be one year. Then I'll be back," Remus replied.

"But that means the curse holds true. New Defence teacher each year," Harry groaned. Remus and Sirius laughed at his expression.

"Come on, I believe you said dinner would be ready when we got home," Remus said, smiling at Sirius.

"Yeah, Mimi and Atta just finished making it. And Fergo has made sure your rooms were ready," Sirius said, talking about the three Potter house elves. The Black family had a house elf as well, but Sirius had left him at the Black house.

"Fergo," Harry called. The house elf appeared in front of the group.

"How can Fergo help Young Master Harry?" Fergo asked, beaming up at Harry.

"Would you be able to take our trunks up to our rooms?" he asked.

"Fergo would be happy to." Remus took his trunk out of his pocket, unshrinking it. Fergo hopped on top of Remus' trunk and disappeared with it. He reappeared not long after, before disappearing again with Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage. They all moved to the dining room, where a large spread of food was waiting for them.

"Mimi and Atta outdid themselves. This looks wonderful," Harry commented as he sat down. Harry was on one side of the table, while Sirius and Remus were opposite him. As they ate, they discussed the highlights of the term.

"I think the third years really enjoyed the Boggart lesson. They all looked happy when they left the classroom at least," Remus said. Harry stiffened slightly. The Boggart lesson had been his least favourite lesson, and he hadn't enjoyed facing it again in the end of year exam obstacle course. But it had been that lesson that made him and Ginny get closer.

"What was your Boggart Harry?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head. Sirius had seen him when he ran away from the Dursley's, he should have an idea.

"It was strange Padfoot. The Boggart became a cupboard for Harry. I was expecting it to be Voldemort," Remus said. Sirius looked shocked at that. Harry could tell that Sirius had expected something else.

"Harry, why are you scared of a cupboard?" Sirius asked gently. Harry shook his head again. He couldn't tell them. His throat felt dry. He took a sip of his water before managing to speak.

"Can I, can I be excused," he asked. Both adults nodded, concerned looks on their faces. Harry quickly stood up, pushing his chair away from the table. Then, he bolted from the room, just like he had done when he had faced the Boggart for the first time. Remus looked to Sirius; worry written all over his face. Sirius looked sad.

"Do you know what that was about Sirius?" Remus asked. Sirius sighed.

"I have an idea. When you moved in, we didn't tell you why Harry was living with us, rather than the people he had lived with for the past 12 years, did we?" Sirius asked. Remus shook his head.

"I asked if the people he was living with would worry when he didn't come home, but neither of you answered." Sirius took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he had to tell Remus. The news he had to break about his pup, Remus' cub.

"I'm guessing here, but I don't think that Harry had the best home life. He didn't tell me details, but when I found him, he was running away. He was covered in bruises and had a large burn mark on his left forearm, as well as a fractured right ankle. He told me he had to get away, or it would have been worse. He described his home as a hell hole," Sirius whispered. He barely stopped himself from breaking down. Remus stilled, staring at Sirius.

"Are you telling me that my cub was abused," Remus whispered, his voice full of venom. Sirius nodded, not able to speak anymore. Remus hugged him, not knowing what to say. Sirius finally calmed down enough to speak.

"I thought his Boggart would have been whoever hurt him," he managed to get out. "Can you remember any details about his Boggart?"

"It was tiny. It couldn't have been more than five feet long and two feet high. It looked like a normal broom cupboard or something," Remus started. Then he gasped, remembering more details that he hadn't fully payed attention to the first time.

"There was dried blood all around the bottom of the door and some blood still dripping out of the entrance. And there was a dead bolt locking it shut."

The two men sat there, trying to work out why Harry was so scared of the cupboard, and why it was covered in blood. Upstairs, Harry sat in his room, sobbing quietly. He was trying to push away the memories brought up by the conversation. Memories of telling people and being dismissed. Of being shoved in the cupboard when visitors came. But he was also plagued with thoughts. What if Remus and Sirius figured it all out. What if they thought he was weak? What if they thought he deserved it? What if they thought he was a freak, nothing but a waste of space?

Sirius already knew that he had been hurt when he ran away. He probably figured he had been abused. But he didn't want anyone finding out how bad it was. He couldn't let anyone know he had slept in a cupboard for majority of his life. No one, but Ginny. Thinking of Ginny, he looked down at the string of magic that connected them. It was still there, thinner than when they had been together, almost as if it was stretching to encompass the distance between them, but it was still there.

He reached down, touching the magic that joined them. He felt a buzz of happiness coming from the magic and it calmed him. He didn't know what it was, but he was glad it was there.


	7. Training and Research

The next day when Harry went down for breakfast, he found Remus and Sirius already at the dining table. Remus was sipping a cup of tea while reading the Daily Prophet, and Sirius was holding a cup of coffee in his hands, occasionally taking a sip. Harry sat down in the same seat he had sat in during dinner the night before. Mimi appeared next to him as he sat down.

"What would Young Master Harry like for breakfast?" Mimi asked.

"I'll just have some toast and a hot chocolate, thanks Mimi," he replied. Mimi nodded, popping away. A plate of toast appeared in front of him, along with a mug of hot chocolate and various spreads. He started eating, not glancing at the adults at the table.

"Sleep well cub?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," he replied, not looking up.

"Any plans for the day?" Sirius asked.

"I'll probably do some of my homework. And I have something I want to research," he replied. Sirius sighed, obviously realising he wasn't going to get much out of him.

"Well, we were thinking that we could train you a bit, if you want?" Remus offered. That made Harry look up.

"Train me in what?" he asked.

"Duelling mainly," Sirius supplied.

"I can't do magic outside school," Harry replied in a monotone voice. Honestly, they should know that.

"Yes, you can pup. Within these wards, the trace can't be detected. Plus, you live with two wizards and three house elves. There is always magic occurring around you. Even if the ministry could detect the magic due to the trace, they wouldn't be able to tell who is casting it," Sirius contradicted him. Harry thought about that for a moment.

"That's stupid. Muggle-borns are at an extreme disadvantage. Purebloods and most half-bloods are able to perform magic during the holidays but muggle-borns can't," he exclaimed. Remus laughed at his outburst.

"So, would you like us to train you cub?" Remus asked.

"Sounds good Moony, Padfoot. But can my friends come as well? I told them I would see if they can come over during the holidays," Harry said.

"We'll see what we can do. We don't want them coming over every day, but we can probably work out a schedule for them to visit," Sirius replied. Harry nodded. Even if he couldn't see them every day, he would be able to see them during the holidays, something that hadn't happened before.

"Do you want to start today cub?" Remus asked. Harry nodded, learning to duel sounded fun.

"How does 2 sounds? That should give you enough time to do some homework and research whatever it is you want to research," Sirius suggested.

"Sounds good Padfoot," Harry agreed. "Will I be able to invite my friends over at the end of the week?"

"Who exactly are you planning on inviting?" Remus asked.

"Just Hermione, Ron and Ginny."

"You can invite them to stay for dinner on Sunday if you want," Remus offered.

"The whole Weasley family is welcome."

"I'll let them know. And maybe on Sunday we can discuss training with them. Anyway, I'm going to go start on my homework. Snape's essay sounds like it will be vicious." Harry stood, leaving the table and heading upstairs to his room.

He pulled out his potions books and a piece of parchment to write the essay on and started writing. An hour and a half later, he had finished the 2-foot essay on aconite that Snape had assigned. He glanced at the clock. It was eleven-thirty. He had enough time to do an hour research before lunch at twelve-thirty. Then he could have an hour research after lunch before training with Padfoot and Moony. With that plan in mind, he headed to the library.

The Potter library was huge. He immediately headed over to the log book. He had discovered the log book during his short time there last summer. It was enchanted so that all you had to do was say the type of book you wanted and a list of books that suited your needs appeared. You then said the name of the specific book you wanted, and it would appear next to the log book. It made finding a specific book much easier than looking through all the shelves.

"Magical bonds," he said. The log book displayed a short list. He read through the 7 books listed. _Magic Connections_ , _Bonds Forever_ and _Connections Between Wizards_ looked like they would hold the most useful information. He said the three names of the books and they appeared one after another on the bench next to the log book. _Bonds Forever_ was the thinnest, looking to be not more than 100 pages. Harry decided to start with _Magic Connections_ as he thought it would have the most promise, and he didn't really want to start the thick volume that _Connections Between Wizards_ was.

One part of _Magic Connections_ spoke of something similar to what he had with Ginny, but only in passing. The passage said; _Some witches and wizards are connected by magic for many different reasons. They are connected with a thin string of magic. For the rare few who can see magic traces, the bond is a different colour depending on the reason for the connection. These connections usually last for the rest of the witch or wizards lifetime._

The rest of the book spoke of connections formed by marriage or birth. It also mentioned life debts, but Harry didn't think that was what the connection between him and Ginny was. The book said that life bonds were an extremely thin connection of magic and the connection was a soft blue. So, definitely not a life debt bond between them. He was stopped in his reading by Fergo popping in.

"Masters Padfoot and Moony be sending Fergo to get Young Master Harry for lunch," Fergo said.

"Thank you Fergo. Let them know I'm coming." Fergo nodded, popping away.

Harry stood, picking up the three books. He had already finished Magic Connections but thought he might use it for comparing against the other two books. He stopped at his room, placing the books on his nightstand, before heading to the dining room.

"How's research going pup?" Sirius asked.

"I haven't found what I'm looking for but have crossed off some possibilities. Why did Fergo refer to you two as Masters Moony and Padfoot?" Harry replied.

"Oh, Fergo, Mimi and Atta were the house elves when your father lived here growing up. When we visited, the house elves all called us by our nicknames. Your dad even convinced them to call him Master Prongs rather than Master James," Remus explained.

"Huh. I should warn you Padfoot, about Sunday. You said all the Weasleys are invited?" Harry began. Sirius nodded, confusion creeping onto his face. Remus, however, seemed to see where Harry was going.

"I half forgot about that," Remus commented. Harry laughed.

"Don't tell him cub. I want to see his reaction on Sunday."

"Ok then. I will tell you this though Padfoot. The twins, Fred and George, love pranks. Just so you know," Harry said, winking at Sirius.

"Oh, prank war. I will begin brainstorming then," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"And he'll be occupied for a while," Remus said with a sigh.

"Moony, it's obvious that you're going to brainstorm with him. I know you were the mastermind behind half of the pranks you did at school, even if neither of you have admitted it," Harry said. Remus laughed.

"Not wrong. Well, you can go back to your research. We'll meet you in the duelling room on the third floor at 2," Remus said. Harry nodded, heading back to his room. He had more books to read.

He got three quarters of the way through _Connections Between Wizards_ by quarter to two. He hadn't found anything useful. He marked his place in the book, setting it on his bedside table. He got changed into clothes more suited for duelling. Wand in hand, he made his way to the duelling room. He finally reached the duelling room, five minutes early, even though he took a wrong turn a couple of times. Sirius and Remus appeared in the room at exactly two o'clock.

"Now, have you ever duelled or learn to duel before?" Remus asked. Harry shook his head.

"Well, I guess we had a duelling club in second year. It only ran for one session though, and Lockhart taught it," Harry admitted.

"Ok, we're going with no experience at all then," Sirius agreed. For the next hour, they ran over how a formal duel would run. Harry didn't expect to ever be in a formal duel, such as an honour duel, but it was interesting to lean.

"Now that you know how a formal duel works, we'll move onto real duels tomorrow. I believe that you finding yourself in a real duel is much more likely than a formal duel. For now, we'll work on dodging for 30 minutes. Dodging spells is better than wasting magic to perform a shield, and shields can't protect against certain spells," Sirius said. Remus agreed.

So Harry spent the next 30 minutes working on dodging. Harry had to admit, Sirius and Remus were good teachers. Dodging randomly shot spells for 30 minutes definitely improved his reflexes and agility, especially when you didn't know what the spells were. At the end of the session, Harry left the room tired but happy that he had improved something. He headed back to his room, needing to have a shower before he did anything else.

He stepped out of the shower 5 minutes later and dressed in a new pair of clothes. He spent the rest of the time before dinner finishing the books he had taken from the library. _Connections Between Wizards_ didn't really tell him any more than _Magic Connections_. Rather, it said the same thing but in a much more sophisticated and wordy way. _Bonds Forever_ though, was extremely useful. It explained about all the magical bonds that lasted forever. It basically expanded on the one useful passage from _Magic Connections_. Harry had a lucky break, finding exactly what he needed in that book. He found one passage that described what he and Ginny had exactly.

_A soul bond is an extremely rare connection between two people. These people were destined to be together from birth. The bond between them won't force anything, but once they find each other, and gain feelings for the other, the bond will snap into existence. The two people in the soul bond are bound to be together, forever. A soul bond can be felt by the two people it connects and can be seen by some. The witches and wizards that can see magic traces, as well as magical creatures such as goblins, veela, house elves and centaurs. For those that can see the bond, it will seem like a golden string connecting the two people from their hearts. When touching the connection, they will feel happiness and love, due to the fact that the connection is purely made of love and happiness. A soul bond is basically true love in reality. The closer the two become, the thicker the magical connection and the stronger the bond as a whole. These two people are one extremely powerful soul, split into two bodies. They are complete on their own, but together, they are immensely powerful._

Harry knew he had to share this information with Ginny. He needed to write to his friends anyway. Sitting down at his desk, he wrote a letter to Hermione, inviting her to his house on Sunday, as well as inviting her to stay for dinner. He then wrote a similar letter to Ron, except including that his whole family were welcome for dinner. His letter to Ginny started similar to the other two. It invited her to his house on Sunday, before changing.

He told her about the books he had found and the information they had revealed. He included that he would keep looking but thought she should know what he had found. His letters finished, he moved to tie them to Hedwig's leg. She had appeared sometime during the day, probably after going for a hunt. He tied the letters for the Weasley's on one leg, Hermione's on the other.

"Can you take this to Hermione first and then to Ron and Ginny?" he asked. Hedwig hooted softly, giving him an affectionate nip on the finger, before flying out the window. He watched her fly away, before turning around and heading down for dinner.


	8. Letters

Ginny walked down the stairs to get breakfast, yawning as she went. She reached the kitchen just in time to see Hedwig fly through the window, landing on the table. Ron was already there, immediately untying the letters.

"Why are there two letters?" he asked as he removed them from Hedwig's leg. Ginny didn't respond, slipping into a chair at the table.

"Ginny, why's Harry writing to you?" Ron asked.

"I wonder Ronald. Maybe because I'm his friend. Can I have my letter?" she asked. Ginny didn't wait for her brother to reply, instead just snatching the letter addressed to her from him. She slipped it into her pocket, not wanting to open it in case it contained details about the bond between them. They had decided to keep it secret; at least until they worked out exactly what it was and what it meant.

"Mum, can I go to Harry's on Sunday. He invited me over and said that the whole family is welcome for dinner," Ron asked. Mrs Weasley turned away from the stove, where she was making breakfast.

"Of course, dear. Write back and asked what time we should arrive for dinner. Do you know where he is staying?"

"He said the floo address is Potter Manor," Ron replied. The twins came downstairs at that moment.

"Did we hear you talking about where Harrykins lives?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, he invited me over for the day on Sunday and said you guy can come for dinner," Ron said as he piled his plate with the food Mrs Weasley had just set in front of them.

"So, we get to meet the people he is staying with?" George asked.

"I would assume so. Unless his guardians are going to leave him for the night," Ginny said. Honestly, her family asked the stupidest questions sometimes.

Ginny finished her breakfast and headed upstairs. She really wanted to know what Harry had said. Sitting on her bed, she quickly opened the letter.

_Dear Ginny,_

_Ron's probably already opened his letter, so you'll know that I've invited him over on Sunday. Would you like to come too? The floo address is Potter Manor and any time after 9 will be fine. Onto other news, I found some books that I thought would be useful for researching the bond between us._

_I found one book that explains it really well. It would appear that we have a soul bond. This means we were destined for each other from the moment we were born. Don't worry though, all the attraction occurs on it's own. We basically share one extremely powerful soul, split between two bodies. Alone, we are whole and fine, but together we are immensely powerful. The bond will get stronger the closer we get. Apparently, the soul bond is true love in reality. From what I can gather, it’s kind of like being two socks from a pair; we belong and go best together, but are perfectly able to be with someone else without suffering._

_When you come over, I'll lend you the book that I found it in, so you can read it yourself. I don't think we should tell anyone though. Soul bonds are apparently extremely rare and personal. I'll see what else I can find as well._

_Love Harry._

Ginny read through it twice before the meaning sunk in. She had a soul bond with Harry. She reached down to where she could feel the bond between them. The happiness coming from the bond flowed through her. She could live with a soul bond. It didn't sound bad at all.

She wrote out a reply to Harry, telling him that she would love to come on Sunday and would see him then, as well as telling him her thoughts on the bond. She headed downstairs, finding Hedwig waiting for her reply. Ron's reply was already tied to her leg and Ginny tied hers on next to it. As soon as her reply was secure, Hedwig flew off.

Harry was sitting at his desk, completing his Transfiguration essay, when Hedwig flew in through his window. She had two replies tied to her legs, a third reply in her beak and Harry eagerly took them. He opened Ron's first.

_Hey mate,_

_Glad to hear that you're settling in with your new guardians. I'd love to come over on Sunday. What time should my family come for dinner?_

_Ron._

Yes, the letter was exactly what he had expected of Ron. Short and to the point. He opened Hermione's next.

_Harry,_

_I would love to come visit on Sunday. You said the floo address is Potter Manor? I didn't know that you owned a manor. How long have you known? Is there a library? I've heard that lots of wizarding manors have huge libraries. Will Ron and Ginny be coming on Sunday? I'm looking forward to seeing you, even if I saw you two days ago._

_Love, Hermione._

Harry laughed reading that. Of course, Hermione would be full of questions. Then, he opened the one he had been looking forward to most.

_Dear Harry,_

_I would love to come on Sunday. You were right about Ron opening his letter before I opened mine. Are you sure it's wise to invite Fred and George to your house, when you live with two Marauders? You've told me about some of the things that your guardians got up to at school and I am a little worried about how they will act around Fred and George._

_On another note, the bond sounds amazing. I've always felt connected to you in some way, and this just explains it a bit more. I agree with you on not telling anyone. It feels like it should just be our special thing. We haven't even told our parents and guardians that we're dating. I don't want to think how they will react if they realise, we're destined to be together. I would love to have a look at any book that you find with information about our bond. And, I don't mind the thought of being with you forever._

_Missing you already,_

_Love, Ginny._

Harry smiled as he read Ginny's letter. He could understand her thoughts about telling their parents. Mrs Weasley would probably lock her in her room until she became of age. He laughed at her thoughts of Fred and George meeting the Marauders. He should probably tell her that Sirius had already started planning for a prank war. He pulled out three pieces of parchment and wrote out replies.

_Hermione,_

_Yes, I live in a manor. I've only known about it since just before the start of last school year. And yes, it does have a library and yes, you can borrow some of the books from it. Ron and Ginny will be coming on Sunday, and the rest of the Weasleys will be coming for dinner. Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday._

_Love, Harry._

_Hey mate,_

_Don't know if Ginny told you, but she's coming for the day as well. Dinner is normally around 6:30, but your family is welcome any time after 5:30._

_See you soon mate,_

_Harry._

_Dear Ginny,_

_I agree with your thoughts about telling our guardians. Your mum would probably freak out and lock you in your room until you're of age, at the earliest. Also, I feel that it is my duty as your boyfriend to warn you about Sunday. Your thoughts about having Fred and George in the same house as Sirius and Remus is going to be interesting. I told Sirius that the twins are pranksters and he has already started planning for a prank war, as has Remus. Figured you would want some warning, but don't tell the others._

_Miss you and can't wait to see you soon,_

_Love, Harry._

He gave the letters to Hedwig, who hooted softly.

"You don't have to take them yet if you're still tired girl. Just as soon as you're ready. I don't need a response from Ron or Hermione, but I am expecting one from Ginny," he said, stroking Hedwig's feathers. Hedwig nipped his thumb affectionately, before spreading her wings and flying off again.

"Guess she wasn't tired then," he laughed to himself. He sat back at his desk, knowing he had to finish the essay for McGonagall before lunch if he wanted a bit more time to research his soul bond with Ginny.


	9. Sunday

Sunday couldn't come quick enough for Harry. The rest of the week was spent in the same way as the other days, homework and research on his soul bond with Ginny before lunch and duelling and other training with Remus and Sirius after lunch.

Sunday morning, Harry woke up extremely excited. He was looking forward to seeing Ron and Hermione again, as well as Ginny, obviously. He dressed quickly and made his way down for breakfast. Remus and Sirius were already there. As usual, Remus was drinking tea and reading the Daily Prophet while Sirius was waking up over a cup of coffee. Mimi had already popped his plate of toast onto the table, along with a cup of hot chocolate. He sat down, grinning as he ate.

"Looking forward to seeing your friends, cub?" Remus asked, looking up from the paper.

"Yeah. One week is too long," he said.

"You lasted over the summers between all the other years," Sirius said, lowering his mug to the table.

"This summer is different," Harry said, turning back to his toast. What he really meant was that this year he had a girlfriend, one who he had a soul bond with. But they didn't need to know that.

"Oh?" Remus asked. Harry hummed slightly, before looking up at his godfather.

"Pranks ready for this evening Padfoot?" he asked.

"Definitely. Moony helped with most of them. Do you reckon the Weasley Twins will have pranks with them?"

"Padfoot, if they don't have their pranking stuff with them, then there is a problem," Harry deadpanned, totally serious.

"Harry's right, Pads. The twins without pranking gear is a cause for trouble," Remus agreed.

"I'm just going to watch where I walk the whole day," Harry decided, standing up.

"Smart idea cub." Harry smiled at his guardians before heading up to his room to prepare for his friends.

Once in his room, he realised that he didn't actually have anything to do, having cleaned his room and gotten everything ready the day before. Glancing at his clock, he was thankful to see it was almost 9 anyway. He headed downstairs again, deciding to wait by the fire.

At nine o'clock sharp, the flames of the fire turned green and Hermione stepped out from the fire.

"Hey Hermione," Harry said, standing up from the chair he had been sitting on. Hermione moved towards him and Harry met her in the middle with a hug.

"How have you been Harry?" Hermione asked after releasing him from the hug.

"I've been good. This summer has been the best by far. How has your summer been?"

"It's fine. I've managed to get through most of my homework, but I've run out of books and mum said I have to wait until my birthday to get any more."

"You can borrow some of the books from the manor library. There's hundreds of books there." Hermione smiled at that. Harry looked back to the fireplace just in time to see the flames turn green again. Ron stepped out of the fire first, closely followed by Ginny.

"Hey mate," Ron said, moving forward. Harry gave him a quick hug, before moving onto Ginny. His hug with Ginny lasted a little longer than the one with Hermione. He felt the bond strengthen between them, going from the stretched string to a thick, strong rope.

"I missed you," Harry whispered in Ginny's ear. Ginny smiled.

"I missed you too," she whispered back before pulling away to greet Hermione.

"How have you guys been?" Harry asked after all the greetings were finished.

"It's been fine. Not much has happened," Ginny said, sitting down on one of the armchairs in the room.

"Percy's still being a prat, but he's not around as much. He practically lives at the ministry," Ron groaned, falling into the chair next to Ginny. Hermione and Harry sat down as well.

"The twins have been driving mum insane as well. They've been inventing their own pranking things and mum keeps finding them everywhere," Ginny added.

"How have you been?" Ron asked.

"I've been fine, except that I've run out of books to read. Thankfully, Harry agreed to let me borrow some from the library," Hermione said.

"There's a library here?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, most family manors have a library of some size. And I've been good. Definitely the best summer. My guardians have been teaching me how to duel. I've asked if you guys can join us some days," Harry said.

"You've been doing magic? Harry, that's not allowed," Hermione admonished.

"Nah, it's fine Hermione. That rule is mainly to stop people breaking the Statute of Secrecy by practicing magic during the summer. Remus explained it when we started the lessons. The trace only detects that magic has been done, not who has done it. So, because I live with two adults, they can't tell if it was me or them who cast the spell. And, the wards around the manor prevent the ministry detecting magic anyway," Harry explained.

"But that's so unfair to muggleborns," Ginny burst out.

"You're preaching to the choir Gin," Harry said with a shrug.

"But that means we can do magic too. Percy, Mum and Dad are all allowed to do magic, so the ministry couldn't tell if I did magic as well," Ron exclaimed angrily.

"Mum wouldn't let us anyway. You know how she is with rules Ron," Ginny countered. Ron grumbled in response.

"Mind giving us a tour Harry. I've never been in a manor before," Hermione said.

"Sure. Be careful where you step though. My godfather is preparing for tonight," Harry said, standing up. Ginny giggled, knowing what he was referring to, while Ron and Hermione exchanged confused looks.

"Is he cleaning or something?" Ron asked.

"Something," Harry replied with a shrug. "Come on, it's a large house."

Harry led them around the manor, starting with the ground floor and moving up. He showed them around the living room, dining room, formal dining room, company room, entrance hall and kitchen. Moving up to the second floor, he showed them around the bedrooms. His room, master room, guest bedrooms, Remus' room (which wasn't really in use) and Sirius' room. The tour ended on the third floor, with Harry showing them the duelling room, training room and the library, which took up half of the floor. They finished in the library, which was a good idea, judging by how attached Hermione seemed.

Hermione had disappeared into the rows of shelves within a minute of entering the library. Harry laughed at the hopeless look on Ron's face and Ginny slowly walked around the library.

"There's a whole section of Quidditch books if you want Ron," Harry said. Ron was still standing still, staring at the huge library. Ron nodded slowly and Harry led him over to the log book.

"Quidditch," Harry said to the log book. A large list of Quidditch books appeared and Ron gasped.

"Just say the titles that look good and they'll appear here," he explained, gesturing to bench next to the log book. Ron nodded, scanning the list before choosing a few that looked interesting to him. Ron then headed over to a seat in the library, settling down to read the books he had chosen. Harry looked back to the log book, trying to work out what subject he hadn't looked through yet during his research.

"Soul magic," he said. A short list appeared, and Harry scanned the list, seeing if there was any that he hadn't read yet. _Magic of the Soul_ and _Soul Mysteries_ were the only two on the list that he hadn't read yet. He asked for the books, grabbing them and choosing a seat near the entrance. He glamoured the books to be defence books, in case Hermione or Ron came over.

Soon, Hermione did come over, no books in her arms.

"How did you get those books? And how did you get Ron to read?" Hermione asked. Harry placed the books on the chair, standing up to show Hermione how the library worked. Hermione found a large number of books and Ginny soon came over with a few as well. So, they spent the morning in the library, all reading their own books. A few hours later, Fergo popped into the library next to Harry.

"Masters Moony and Padfoot asked Fergo to tell Young Master Harry and friends that lunch is ready," Fergo said.

"Thank you Fergo," Harry said, standing up. Hermione had looked up at the pop and Ginny and Ron had come over when they heard the speaking. Fergo bowed, before popping away again.

"What was that?" Hermione asked.

"That was Fergo. He's a house elf. The Potter's have three house elves here, Fergo, Mimi and Atta. Come on, lunch is ready," Harry explained. As they walked through the manor and into the dining room, Harry explained house elves to Hermione, who was distraught to find out that Harry had slaves.

"Hermione, house elves literally live to serve. They need to be bound to a family of wizards to be able to use their magic. And if you offer freedom to a house elf, they will be extremely offended," Harry said, trying to stop her from starting a club or something for houses elves. Hermione sighed, obviously not having an argument. Before she could think up an argument, they reached the dining room.

Sirius and Remus were already seated at the table and Harry led them over to the table.

"Hey Moony, Padfoot. How's setting up for later going?" Harry asked as they ate.

"Good. They won't know what hit them," Sirius replied happily.

"Merlin, I really should have convinced mum to not to come," Ginny groaned.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. Ginny and Harry shared a look before Harry explained.

"Moony and Padfoot are two of the twins four idols," he said.

"So, I know that you guys go by Moony and Padfoot, and that your Remus Lupin, but who are you?" Ron asked, rather bluntly.

"Oh, that's right, I haven't actually introduced you to my guardians," Harry said. "Remus Lupin, Moony, honorary godfather and guardian. Sirius Black, Padfoot, godfather and legal guardian."

"You're Sirius Black? Weren't you in Azkaban for years?" Hermione asked.

"Wrongly convicted and imprisoned without a trial. But that's in the past," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. "Would you guys like to learn duelling after lunch?"

"Ooh, yes please," Ginny replied.

"Then we shall head to the duelling room when we have finished eating," Remus said. The meal was soon finished, and the group headed up to the third floor.

"Would you like to see a demonstration first or get straight into it?" Sirius asked.

"A demonstration would be nice," Hermione answered. Remus instructed them to move back behind the ward runes and with a flick of his wand, shields popped up in front of them. Remus and Sirius moved into the centre of the room, wands up and moving into duelling positions. They bowed, before springing into action. The group watched as they duelled, casting spells back and forth, shielding and dodging some spells, while getting hit by others, but not many. Finally, Remus landed a hit on Sirius that made his drop his wand, which Remus promptly summoned to his hand. The group clapped as the shield fell away.

"That was amazing," Ron said.

"Thank you, Ron," Remus replied.

"For now, we will start with dodging and shields. If your parents are okay with you joining us, we will progress onto other things after this, such as countering and such," Sirius said. The group nodded and they jumped into the lesson.

Harry found that it was much the same as the lessons he had been having the whole week, except it was much more fun with his friends with him. They spent many hours dodging random spells and learning how to judge if they should shield or dodge, especially because some shields couldn't hold up against strong spells. By the time it reached 5:30 they were sweaty and out of breath, but happy with what they had accomplished.

"Young Master Harry, you have visitors," Fergo said, popping into the duelling room just as spell fire stopped.

"Who are they Fergo?" he asked.

"The Weasleys Young Master Harry," Fergo replied.

"Could you show them to the company room and let them know that we will be down soon, after we clean up. And ask Atta to get ready to clean up the mess from the twins, Moony and Padfoot," Harry instructed.

"Of course, Young Master Harry," Fergo replied before popping out.

"Why would Atta need to get ready to clean up?" Hermione asked.

"You've met the twins, yes?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows at Hermione.

"Yes," Hermione answered, sounding confused.

"Exactly," Ginny replied, not giving anything else away.

"This is what Padfoot was preparing for during the morning. Just, be careful," Harry said, leading the way to the second floor. He showed them each into a guest bedroom, each of them having an adjoined bathroom.

"You guys can clean up in these rooms. There are already towels in the bathrooms. Take your time and I'll meet you in the company room." Hermione and Ron nodded, moving into separate rooms. Ginny stayed in the hallway for a little longer, giving Harry kiss on his cheek.

"See you soon," Ginny said, before moving into her own room. Harry smiled before going into his own room to clean up.


	10. Dinner With the Weasleys

Harry reached the company room to find that the only people missing were Remus and Sirius. The whole Weasley family was there, as was Hermione. They were all just sitting around talking. Mrs Weasley looked up when Harry sat down.

"Harry dear, thank you for inviting us for dinner. I must say, it is nice to not have to cook for once."

"It's no problem Mrs Weasley. Mimi and Atta were thrilled to find out we would be having guests over for dinner," Harry replied.

"Where are your guardians Harry? I don't believe we have been introduced," Mr Weasley said.

"Yeah, we want to meet Padfoot," the twins said together. Ron and Ginny groaned at that.

"I am not entirely sure where they are, but I have a feeling I know what they are doing. I'll get Fergo to find them," Harry replied. "Fergo." Fergo was instantly next to Harry.

"What can Fergo be doing for Young Master Harry?" Fergo asked with a bow.

"Can you locate Moony and Padfoot and tell them that our guests want to meet them and that their idea of fun can wait for later," Harry requested. Fergo bowed before popping away again. Harry then turned to Mrs Weasley.

"I am so sorry for what will happen after dinner. I honestly believe that I am the most mature one in the house sometimes."

"What are your guardians planning?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"A surprise for the twins. I already have Atta lined up for cleaning. My guardians happen to be two of the four people that Fred and George look up to when it comes to pranking."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Gred?" George asked, turning to his brother.

"I think I am Forge," Fred replied. With huge grins on their faces they turned to the group at large.

"Prank war," they exclaimed.

"Moony, they figured it out," Harry heard Sirius whine from the hallway.

"I knew this would be a bad idea," Ginny groaned. Sirius wasn't even in the same room as them yet. Remus entered the room first, closely followed by Sirius.

"It's good to meet you. We have heard all about you from Harry," Remus said.

"All good things, I hope?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Of course. I don't believe we have introduced ourselves. I'm Remus Lupin. I was a good friend of Harry's parents and am his honorary godfather."

"Sirius Black. I was very close with Harry's parents and I was named Harry's godfather. I have only recently been able to fulfill my role as his guardian, due to prior altercations," Sirius said. Harry thought that was a very subtle way to say that he had been in prison, escaped and then cleared of all charges in a trial he should have gotten 12 years prior.

Fred and George leapt from their seat and rushed to Sirius and Remus. They went to their knees and into a half bow, the same position they had been when they found out Remus nickname at the end of the school year.

"We are not worthy to be in your presence," they said. Sirius just laughed at them.

"I can tell you now, you are definitely worthy. Not just anyone can work out how to make the map work. And Harry has told me about some of your pranks," Sirius said. The twins stood up, looking eager to discuss pranking with their idols. Just before they could start the conversation, however, Mimi popped into the room.

"Dinner is being ready Masters and Masters guests."

"Thank you, Mimi. We will head to the dining room now," Remus said. Mimi bowed, before popping out again. Harry led the way to the dining room, where food was already laid out on the table. Harry slipped into his normal seat and Ginny sat down next to him. Ron and Hermione took the seats that Remus and Sirius normally occupied, opposite Harry and Ginny. Fred sat down next to Ginny, with George on his other side. Remus and Sirius sat next to Ron, opposite the twins. Mr and Mrs Weasley sat next to Remus, while Percy sat next to George, to the unhappiness of both of them.

"This looks wonderful," Mr Weasley said as they took in the spread before them.

"Thank you for coming. Tuck in," Sirius said. At his words, everyone started taking some food from the dishes in front of them.

There was various discussions occurring as they ate. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny were talking about plans for the holidays and training plans, as they had all agreed that they wanted to continue their duelling lessons. Fred, George and Sirius were discussing various ways to prank and the best pranks that they had pulled at Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Remus, Percy, Mrs Weasley and Mr Weasley were discussing different classes at Hogwarts and the disadvantages towards education that were present from having a different teacher each year.

"I was thinking that twice a week, maybe three times, would be a good idea. Something like 2 till 5 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday maybe?" Hermione asked.

"That sounds like a good plan, but we would have to make sure Moony and Padfoot are alright with that," Harry agreed.

"Not to mention mum and dad," Ron added.

"And your parents Hermione. Would they mind you coming here, with adults they've never met, to learn things three times a week?" Ginny asked.

"They should be fine. As long as I'm home by the time I tell them, then it's fine," Hermione replied, brushing it off. Harry zoned in on the conversation occurring just down the table.

"I reckon the best prank I pulled was magical snakes enchanted to cause havoc sent into the Slytherin common room. But that was Moony's idea. The best pranks we pulled were all Moony's though. He had the best ideas, plus the best ways to avoid being caught," Sirius said.

"We rarely get caught in the act," Fred said.

"But all the teachers know it's us. It's a reputation we've built," George agreed.

"Oh, all the teachers knew our group as trouble makers. But they thought that Moony was barely involved, the one simply dragged along. He'd be the one to get us in the most trouble as well. He'd say something under his breath that would make the three of us crack up, often annoying the professors. And he had the dirtiest mouth. He'd say something in class and then act all offended and blame it on James," Sirius replied.

"James?" Fred asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, Prongs. Did Harry not tell you who the other Marauders were?" he asked.

"No, I didn't Padfoot. It was going to be a secret," Harry cut in.

"Oh, you can't keep it a secret pup," Sirius told him, before waving him off and turning back to the twins.

"So, James who?" George asked.

"James Potter, of course. Why else would I be Harry's godfather if I wasn't close to James." Fred and George turned to Harry, expressions of mock betrayal on their faces.

"How could you not tell us that your dad was our idol?" they demanded.

"Slipped my mind?" he tried, shrugging.

Harry was drawn back into the conversation with his friends when Ron started talking about crushes and the like.

"Anyone you have your eye on Harry?" Ron asked, winking at him. Harry blushed slightly and Ginny discretely placed her hand on his thigh.

"Ooh, you do. Come on, who is it?" Hermione squealed slightly, leaning forward. Harry shook his head, turning so that he wasn't facing his best friends.

"Come on mate, spill. It's obvious you like someone," Ron pressed. Harry shook his head again, lips pressed tightly shut.

"What about you Ron? Anyone you fancy?" Ginny asked. It was Ron's turn to blush and turn away. Ginny and Hermione laughed at the boy's reactions. Their laugher died down just in time for Sirius' first prank to occur.

Glitter rained down from the ceiling, sticking to everyone's clothes. The glitter was charmed to change colour every few minutes, but the colours it changed between were vivid, glaring colours, such as neon yellow and hot pink. Harry had been expecting it though and had got a shield up as soon as he had a tell tail sign of a prank about to start. Sirius always rubbed his hands slightly when a prank he had planned started, and it was something Harry had been watching for all night.

The glitter finished falling and Harry dropped his shield, turning to see the reactions of everyone else at the table. The looks of mischief of the twins faces, coupled with the looks of anticipation on his guardians, made Harry groan and set his head in his hands. It was going to be a long night.


	11. The Dursley's

A few days after the dinner with the Weasleys, Sirius and Remus pulled him aside after breakfast. They didn't have anything planned for the day, minus their normal routine, and it was Thursday, so Ginny, Hermione and Ron weren't coming over for training. Harry didn't say anything as his godfather and uncle pulled him into the informal lounge.

Sirius and Remus both sat down, and he did the same. Sirius and Remus were sitting on a couch together and he sat in an armchair, facing them. He sat calmly, wondering why they had brought him in there, but didn't say anything. That is, until Sirius locked the doors of the room and Remus pulled out a few bottles of potions, full of a potion that he vaguely recognised as a calming draught. What could they want to talk about that would need those precautions?

"Harry, we want to know about how you grew up," Sirius said, voice calm and soft. That would be why then.

He didn't react, simply sitting there, staring unseeingly in front of him. He became aware that it was becoming harder to breath, the air seeming to not actually be entering his lungs. He kept trying to suck in air to no avail, until Remus placed a bottle to his lips, tipping the contents down his throat. He immediately felt the effects of the calming draught take effect, his breathing becoming easier. He blinked rapidly, coming back to his senses, focusing on what was in front of him.

Sirius and Remus were exchanging worried looks and he was pretty sure it was because of his reaction.

"Are you alright cub?" Remus asked gently. He began to nod, before changing his mind and shaking his head with a shrug.

"Why? Why do you want to know?" he asked, his voice a lot steadier than he was expecting; he put that down to the calming draught.

"We just want to know how you grew up, how your previous guardians raised you into such an amazing young man," Remus said. He moved his focus to Sirius, who was watching him carefully.

"We'll start easy. Who were your guardians, pup?" He took a shaky breath before answering. This was a simple question; it wouldn't hurt to answer.

"The Dursley's. Petunia and Vernon Dursley." He was not expecting the reaction he got. Remus growled, his eyes flashing amber and Sirius' fists clenched, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

"You were left with Petunia?" Sirius asked, his voice full of venom. He nodded slowly.

"Who the hell placed you with that monster?" Remus asked. He blinked. Remus was normally more careful with his words, at least, he didn't normally hear him swearing.

"Dumbledore, I think." Remus and Sirius both growled, reminding him a lot of their animal sides. It took a while before they both calmed down enough to ask him another question.

"Tell me that she treated you right?" He could hear the pleading note in Remus' voice.

"Um, she didn't treat me terribly." It wasn't a lie. Of course, Petunia forced him to do chores all day, but she was the one who remembered to give him food at least once a day, as well as his daily bottle of water. It was Vernon who was horrible.

"Pup, I hate to break it to you, but you had to have been treated terribly, judging by how you looked last summer. You referred to that place as a hell hole."

"I didn't say that living there was easy. I just said that Petunia didn't treat me terribly. She was the only one who remembered to give me food and water every day and she was the one who finally decided that I needed to be given Dudley's second bedroom because I didn't fit in the cupboard anymore." He clapped his hand over his mouth, horrified about what he had just blurted out.

He had not meant to tell them about his cupboard. He could see their magic beginning to snap and whirl around them as they took in what he had just said. Unable to bare to watch their magic's reaction, he looked down, staring at his hands in his lap.

"I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong. I swear you just said that you were given someone's second bedroom because you had grown out of a cupboard," Sirius said, and Harry could hear the steel underlining his forced calm. He took a deep breath. Well, it was out now, may as well keep going. He nodded slowly, keeping his gaze on his hands, firmly away from their eyes.

"How old were you when this happened?" Remus asked, voice icy.

"Almost 11," he mumbled. Unfortunately, he hadn't been quiet enough and he heard Remus suck in sharply.

"I didn't get that pup." He raised his head, before hurriedly looking back down.

"Almost 11," he repeated, slightly louder this time.

"Pray tell, cub, why you were in a cupboard."

"Because freaks don't deserve a bedroom," he said quietly.

"Let me get this straight, pup. You slept in a cupboard for 10 years because those monsters didn't think you deserved a bedroom. And their child had two bedrooms." He nodded, glancing up slightly. He could see their magic getting thicker as it swirled around the room, responding to their emotions. He waited for them to speak again, not knowing what to say.

"Your Boggart," Remus gasped. "Harry, cub, please tell me that your Boggart wasn't the cupboard they forced you to sleep in."

"Um, yeah." He glanced over at Sirius and saw his hands shaking in his lap.

"Ok, but it can't get worse than that, right?" Remus asked.

"It does Moony. Remember what I told you first night of the holidays? After we discussed Boggarts?" Sirius asked. Remus let out a slight whine, giving Harry a vague idea what they had discussed. Sirius had seen him running away, after all.

He continued staring at his lap, not wanted to look anywhere except his hands. Sirius appeared in front of him, kneeling on the floor so that he could look him in the eyes. Sirius placed one of his hands on top of his, while the other went to his chin, lifting his head slightly.

"I know it's hard Harry. But we need to know. We can't help if you don't talk to us." He nodded slowly. He was terrified of telling them exactly what went on in that house. He didn't want to see how they reacted, didn't want to face the thought that they may think he deserved what he got. Everyone on Privet Drive had.

It took majority of the morning and at least half of the afternoon, as well as all the calming draughts that Remus had brought, both for him and for his guardians. But he managed to tell them everything. He slowly explained his first memories, the punishments and how the severity of them had grown as he got older.

He told them about how he thought his name was Freak for years, getting locked in his cupboard without food when he dared do better than Dudley at school. He told them how he had to do all the chores, how he was punished if they weren't up to Petunia's and Vernon's impossible standards. He told them how they had gotten worse after he came back from Hogwarts, although he didn't go into details about how bad. He told them basically everything.

"What about last summer? Why did you choose then to run away?"

"I accidently blew up Marge. She always takes pleasure in taunting me, and I can usually ignore it. But she insulted my parents. I couldn't control my anger and my magic lashed out. Vernon was furious. I only just managed to grab all my stuff from my room and pack it in my trunk before he came down on me. He left the room, telling me to stay put. But I knew it would only get worse; he was angrier than I had ever seen him. So, I grabbed my trunk, and ran."

He was surprised how the words managed to flow now. It had been extremely difficult at the start, but he had gained confidence as he went, seeing that Sirius and Remus were getting angry on his behalf. It might have also been because of the amount of calming draughts they had all consumed.

"Wait until I get my hands on that man," Remus growled. "I'll make him regret harming my cub." Harry looked up from his hands and saw how Remus' eyes were glowing, Moony seemingly closer to the surface than normal. He also noticed how Sirius' hands were clenched tightly and his anger was written all over his face. Sirius took a few deep breaths before speaking.

"Thank you for telling us Harry. I know it can't have been easy. And I can promise you that we will never harm you. You didn't deserve anything that you got at the hand of that monster. It wasn't your fault." Harry felt a few tears slide down his face. He knew that they wouldn't hurt him, but the fear was still there, the fear that they would do the same things that Vernon did, that they thought he deserved it.

To hear Sirius confirm that they wouldn't hurt him, that he didn't deserve any of it, was a weight lifted off his shoulders. He offered his guardians a shaky smile, tears still slowly rolling down his face. Remus and Sirius moved over to him, holding him close in their arms. He tensed slightly, like he always did at physical contact, but quickly relaxed; he was getting more used to hugs now that he knew Mrs Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny.

They just sat there for a while, taking comfort in knowing the others were there. Eventually though, Sirius pulled back, Remus following him.

"Well, I have some things to do, a howler to send, you know how it is," Sirius said brightly, before unlocking the room and striding out.

"I almost feel sorry for Dumbledore."


	12. Discussion

That Sunday, the conversation they had had about his upbringing was brought up over breakfast.

"Hey pup."

"Yeah Padfoot?"

"You told us about your life before Hogwarts and the summers between the years, but you didn't actually tell us about your first two years at Hogwarts." Remus tilted his head slightly.

"You're right Pads." He turned to Harry. "Hogwarts had to have been lots of fun. Can't have been as bad as last year, with the dementors and all." Harry took a deep breath. He had seen how they reacted to his life with the Dursleys. How would they react learning about his first two years at Hogwarts? The place he was meant to be safe.

"You want to know about my first and second year?" he asked.

"Yeah, I want to know exactly what you got up to. Detentions, best classes, pranks, everything," Sirius confirmed.

"If you're sure. Do you have anything planned for the day?"

"No, nothing planned."

"I was just going to go to the library, so not really."

"Ok, let's go to the lounge. You should probably grab some calming draughts." He stood and left before they could question his suggestion. He sat down in the same armchair he had used during their previous conversation. It didn't take long before they both entered the room, sitting on the couch again. Remus placed 10 calming draughts on the table between them.

"Your first two years couldn't have been so bad that you need a calming draught, right cub?"

"Actually, those are for you," he replied, running his hand through his hair. This would be a fun conversation.

"Ok, start with the sorting and then go from there. Just the most interesting parts," Sirius suggested. He nodded.

"Ok, so I met Ron on the train and we kind of just clicked as friends. Then we met Malfoy and he insulted Ron and reminded me of Dudley. So, when we got to the sorting ceremony, I didn't care where I went, as long as it wasn't in the same house as Malfoy. I sit down, and the first thing the hat tells me is that I would do well in Slytherin. I argued with the hat, determined not to be in the same house as Malfoy, and he had already been sorted into Slytherin. The hat finally relented and put me in Gryffindor, and Ron joined me not long after.

"Everything was fine in the first week. We got lost a lot, but with the size of the castle, moving stairs, and no map, that wasn't surprising. I was enjoying classes until we got to Potions, where I learnt that Snape hates my guts. He immediately singled me out, mocking me for the fame that I didn't even know I had until a month prior. He then proceeded to ask me questions that I didn't know the answers to, making fun of me when I told him I didn't know. Then, he insulted me again after Neville melted his cauldron, blaming me for Neville's mistake when he's the teacher. So, that set the benchmark for every potions lesson that I have ever had." He took a break here, trying to work out where to go next.

"What questions did he ask pup?"

"What does powdered root of asphodel mixed with an infusion of wormwood make; where to find a bezoar; the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane."

"That greasy git. He would know that those are third- and fourth-year topics. Honestly, how he would think that a first year would know that," Remus exclaimed.

"He also takes great pleasure in comparing to me dad. 'Just like your father', 'how arrogant, just like your father', etc. Anyway, next comes Halloween," he said, continuing his story and pretending he didn't notice the scowls that Sirius and Remus were both wearing.

"So, Ron says something that was pretty insensitive, thinking back, about Hermione and she hears. She gets really upset, I don't blame her, it was kind of mean, and proceeds to hide in the bathroom, crying, for the rest of the day. The feast comes and she's not there, but other than that, everything's fine. Until Quirrell came running in, yelling about a troll in the dungeons. Obviously, everyone panicked. We were heading back to the common room when I realised that Hermione didn't know about the troll. So, me being me, I went to find her with Ron." At this point Remus was whining quietly and Sirius was already looking like he needed one of the calming draughts.

"So, we headed to the bathroom on the first floor, because that's where the girls were saying Hermione was, but on the way, we come across the troll. It went into a room and we locked the door behind it. Except, that room just happened to be the girl's bathroom. So, we then unlocked the door and found the troll attacking Hermione as she tried to hide in the bathroom stalls. We distracted the troll so Hermione could get to safety, which involved me jumping on the troll's back, and Ron knocked the troll out with its club, using the levitating spell we had learnt that day. The teachers came in, Hermione spun a story that ended up with us earning 5 points and getting away without any consequences. We were best friends after that." Sirius was tightly clutching an empty bottle, having downed his first calming draught when he mentioned jumping on the troll's back.

"Of course, why wouldn't your friendship have come from battling a troll as first years?"

"Please tell me that is the worst that happened during your first year cub?" Harry smiled wryly at them before shaking his head.

"We're only at Halloween. Wait, I forgot a few things. We're going back to second week. I forgot about our first flying lesson." Remus and Sirius smiled, having both seen him fly.

"It's a shame you had to wait until second year to get on the team. But your flying lessons must have been fun," Sirius said. He smirked at that, before launching into his story.

"So, we had flying lessons with the Slytherins. Neville couldn't control his broom and ended up falling off, fracturing his wrist. Madame Hooch took him to the hospital wing, telling us not to touch the brooms. Well, Malfoy decided to make fun of Neville. Then he found Neville's Remembrall, which he had dropped. I told him to give it back and he decided that I had to get it back myself. He took to the air, and, since I'm very impulsive, I followed him. Flying was amazing. He wasn't expecting me to actually follow him and he decided to throw the Remembrall. I dove after it, a 50 ft dive, almost vertical. Grabbed the ball about 2 inches off the ground and pulled up. Not a scratch on me.

"Well, McGonagall had seen me, and she came storming out. Told me to follow her and began sweeping through the corridors, muttering about how dangerous it was, lucky I didn't break my neck, etc. She came to a classroom and asked for Wood and led both of us to an empty classroom before telling Wood that she had found him a seeker." At this point, Sirius screamed slightly.

"You got onto the team in first year?"

"Yep. Youngest Quidditch player in a century," he confirmed.

"Impressive," Remus agreed. He smiled.

"Anyway, at dinner that night, Malfoy approached me, annoyed that I wasn't expelled. He then proceeded to challenge me to a duel that night, at midnight in the trophy room. We agreed and that night Ron and I snuck out. Hermione came along, having followed us out, trying to stop us, and the Fat Lady had disappeared. We picked up Neville along the way as he had forgotten the password after coming back from the hospital wing. We headed to the agreed place, but Malfoy didn't show; Filch did. We ran and ended up running into Peeves. We managed to escape, hiding in a corridor that had been locked; Hermione opened it with an alohomora.

"We quickly realised that we weren't meant to be there, many reasons why. It was the third-floor corridor, the corridor that Dumbledore had said was out of bounds that year. Well, we were there and hiding from Filch, but we found out why it was forbidden and why it was locked. Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to have a giant, three-headed-dog in the corridor. So, that was fun.

"Anyway, after Halloween, we noticed that Snape had a limp and Ron thought that he had tried to get passed the three-headed-dog, that we later found out was called Fluffy."

"What the hell was Dumbledore thinking, keeping a Cerberus in a school," Remus demanded. His eyes were glowing a bright amber and Sirius forced a calming draught into his hand. Harry shrugged.

"He had a reason. But I'll get to that. Anyway, first quidditch game arrived. Things were fine, I stayed out of the game like we planned. I saw the snitch, dove, and was blocked by Flint. Then my broom started bucked and trying to throw me off. When Fred and George tried to get me off it, the broom rose higher. It took a while, but I managed to stay on, even if that was just by one hand, and the broom went back to normal. I pulled myself up and then went into a dive. I hit the ground and then coughed up the snitch."

"You caught the snitch in your mouth?" Sirius asked. He nodded.

"More importantly, what happened to your broom? Brooms aren't meant to do that," Remus added.

"Well, Hermione told me after the game, when we went to talk to Hagrid, that she had seen Snape focused on me, not even blinking, and muttering. She recognised the signs that he was trying to curse my broom and went to stop it. She snuck through the stands and set Snape's robes on fire, distracting him, and letting me get control of my broom." Both Remus and Sirius were looking livid, so angry that they didn't even notice he had said that Hermione set Snape on fire.

"Me ... him ... full moon," Remus got out before Sirius forced him to drink the calming draught that was still in his hand.

"At Hagrid's, Hermione said that Snape was trying to kill me, and Ron added that he was trying to steal whatever the dog on the third-floor corridor was protecting; Hermione had noticed that it was standing on a trapdoor while the rest of us were too busy panicking and paying attention to its heads, all three of them. Hagrid asked how we knew about Fluffy, because apparently the Cerberus belonged to him, and then said that what Fluffy was guarding was between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Tell me he didn't," Remus pleaded. Harry offered the werewolf a small smile and a shrug before continuing with his story.

"So, we spent a lot of time in the library, trying to find who Nicholas Flamel was with no luck. Christmas arrived and Hermione went home. I got my first ever Christmas presents from my friends and Mrs Weasley, as well as a gift that wasn't signed. Someone gave me dad's invisibility cloak. So, that night, I tried the cloak out and snuck into the restricted section." Sirius cut him off with a groan.

"You got an invisibility cloak and the first thing you do is sneak into the library? You're as bad as Moony," he complained.

"Well, we really wanted to know who Flamel was. Anyway, I happened to choose a screaming book. I left the library, not wanting to get caught, when I ran into Snape, Quirrell and Filch. I slipped into a room and found the Mirror of Erised. It had me hooked and I went back for three days before Dumbledore convinced me that it wasn't worth to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

"We finally found out who Flamel was after the holidays. We found him on a chocolate frog card. It didn't take long for Hermione to realise that Dumbledore had hidden the Philosophers Stone on the third floor. So, we come to my next Quidditch game and Snape was refereeing. Hermione and Ron learnt the Leg-locker jinx in case Snape tried anything, but Dumbledore came to watch so I was fine. Still set a record though, I caught the snitch in about 5 minutes. And apparently, during the game, Malfoy and Ron got in a fight and Neville tried to help, taking on Crabbe and Goyle on his own.

"After the game, I was the last out of the changing room and I saw Snape heading into the forest, so I followed him. I saw him threatening Quirrell, asking if he had found out how to get passed Fluffy. It didn't take long before that was out of our minds though because Hagrid had managed to get a new pet. He had somehow managed to get hold of a dragon egg, a Norwegian Ridgeback."

"Hagrid lives in a wooden house," Sirius exclaimed.

"I know. Ron pointed that out and, apparently, he didn't see the problem. Anyway, we managed to get a letter to Charlie, Ron's older brother who works with dragons, to get rid of the dragon because Malfoy had seen Norbert hatch. And yes, Hagrid named the dragon Norbert. Then Ron got bitten and his hand swelled to twice its normal size, but Hermione and I were still able to get Norbert out. Unfortunately, Malfoy had found the letter and tried to tell McGonagall. We accidently left the cloak at the top of the Astronomy tower and Filch found us, taking us to McGonagall, and Neville was there too because he had tried to warn us.

"McGonagall was furious and took 50 points, each. Plus, we all got a detention for the next week. So, the whole house hated us for loosing 150 points in one night and then we got to our detention. Apparently, the punishment for being out of bed out of hours was to have a detention, at 11pm, in the Forbidden Forest.

"It was our job, along with Hagrid, to find out what had been killing unicorns in the forest. We had to follow the trail of blood. Originally, I was with Hermione and Hagrid, but Malfoy and Neville didn't work and so Neville and I swapped. Malfoy and I found the unicorn. It was dead and there was a figure drinking its blood. Malfoy ran, but I was frozen in fear and my scar was searing. Firenze, a centaur, rescued me and got me out safely, but not before he helped me figure out who the figure was." At this point, both Sirius and Remus had gone through two calming draughts and looking like they might need a third.

"What the hell were they thinking. 11-year-olds, trying to find whatever was killing unicorns, creatures that are almost impossible to catch."

"I have no clue. Anyway, that encounter made me realise that whoever was after the stone, and we were almost certain that it was Snape, didn't want it for himself. He wanted it for Voldemort, who was currently living off unicorn blood."

"You ran into Voldemort. In the forest. This just keeps getting better and better," Sirius groaned, head in his hands. Harry ignored that, knowing he would love what was to come, and continued with his story.

"Well, it came to exams and I was surprised that I managed to get though all the exams with the threat that Voldemort was really close. After our exams, I kept thinking that I was missing something until it clicked. How would Hagrid have gotten a dragon egg, when it is illegal to even have one? He had said he won it, but from who? So, we went and asked him and found out he had told the person who had given him the egg how to get past Fluffy.

"We then found out that Dumbledore had left the castle, so we tried to warn McGonagall that the stone was in danger. She didn't believe us, so we tried to protect it ourselves. However, Hermione wasn't able to follow Snape because he got suspicious and McGonagall caught us outside the third-floor corridor and told us to get back to our common room or risk losing more points.

"So, I decided that I would have to take it into my own hands. I got my cloak, which had somehow been returned to me, and decided to go down the trapdoor to stop Snape. Ron and Hermione were determined and came with me. We got past Fluffy and fell onto a plant that Hermione worked out was Devil's Snare. We managed to get past that after Hermione stopped freaking out because there was no wood for a fire and we found a room full of flying keys. That was easy for me and I quickly caught the needed key. We came across a giant chessboard and Ron sacrificed himself. We came across a troll, that was thankfully already knocked out, and then came Snape's puzzle. Hermione worked out the riddle and sent me forward, going back to help Ron.

"I stepped through the cursed fire and found someone already there. Quirrell was staring intently into the Mirror of Erised, but quickly realised I was there and tied me up. He told me a few things, including the fact that Snape hadn't been trying to kill me during the quidditch match. He was apparently muttering the counter-curse. Anyway, a voice from nowhere said to use me to get the stone and so Quirrell forced me to look in the mirror. Somehow, the stone ended up in my pocket, and I lied about what I saw. The voice said that I had lied and that it wanted to speak to me, so Quirrell started unwrapping his turban and there was a face on the back of his head.

"Voldemort spoke to me, saying a lot of things that I ignored, before he ordered Quirrell to kill me. Quirrell couldn't touch my bare skin and I ended up burning him. I passed out from the effort and woke up 3 days later in the hospital wing. We earned enough points from our effort to save the stone that we won the house cup by ten points and then it was the end of term and I was going back to the Dursleys," he finished.

Sirius had begun muttering a kind of mantra to himself. Meanwhile, Remus had stood up as he finished his story and started inspecting him, making sure he was ok, even though the whole thing had happened two years ago.

"I'm fine Moony. I had no lasting damage."

"That bastard tried to kill you," Remus replied.

"I'm still here. It's fine, I'm fine," he reassured the protective werewolf. Remus and Sirius both eventully calmed down, with the help of a calming draught.

"Ok, so your first year was a bit hectic. Second year can't have been worse though, right?" his godfather asked. He grimaced slightly. They would love his second year.

"It started in the summer. A house elf came to my house and warned me not to go back to Hogwarts because it would be too dangerous for me. When I wouldn't listen, he levitated a pudding while the Dursley's had guests over. That resulted in me having bars put on my windows and a cat flap in my door. Ron, Fred, and George came and rescued me in Mr Weasleys flying car. I stayed with the Weasleys for the rest of the summer and that was great.

"On the way to school, the barrier for the platform was blocked when Ron and I tried to get through, so we missed the train. When we ran at it, I didn't pay attention to the magic on it, I thought it was the normal magic making it a portal to the platform. The logical thing, to wait for Mr and Mrs Weasley and to send a letter to the school explaining what happened, didn't even occur to us. Instead, Ron decided it would be a great idea to fly the car to school. That was fine until we reached the school and the cars engine stopped. We ended up crashing into the Whomping Willow." Here, both men winced, knowing how aggressive that tree could be.

"That night couldn't get worse though, could it?"

"You'd be surprised Pads. Ron's wand broke and then we got caught by Snape. He took us to his office and wanted to expel us. McGonagall and Dumbledore appeared, and we only got a detention, and had to eat in Snape's office, which is quite creepy by the way. The next day Ron got a howler. I don't want to see another one of those, ever. After that, things were fine until Halloween."

"Why is it always Halloween?" Remus asked.

"No clue. So, I was invited to go to Nick's Death day Party and so Hermione, Ron, and I skipped the feast to go. On the way back to the common room, I heard a voice in the walls, talking about killing someone. Naturally, I followed the voice, which neither Ron nor Hermione could hear, by the way. We found Filch's cat, Mrs Norris frozen outside a girl's bathroom on the second floor. The floor was flooded and there was writing on the wall. 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware!'"

"Wonderful. The Chamber of Secrets. That's just wonderful," Sirius said enthusiastically, his voice almost dripping sarcasm.

"So, after that, everyone was on edge. First quidditch game comes and a bludger keeps attacking me, no matter how hard Fred or George hit it away. I could see traces of magic on it, but didn't think anything of it, like with the barrier, because it's normally covered in magic to make it act as a bludger. So, the bludger managed to break my arm just before I caught the snitch. When I landed, the idiotic teacher we had for Defence came over, wanting to fix my arm. He removed all the bones instead," he deadpanned. Remus was downing another calming draught.

"Who was your teacher?" Sirius asked.

"Lockhart. So, he removed all the bones in my arm, and I spent the night in the hospital wing regrowing my bones. That hurts, wouldn't recommend it. So, the house elf that warned me about a danger at the school during the holidays appeared and told me how he had blocked the barrier and cursed the bludger to make it so I had to leave Hogwarts. Right after he disappeared, McGonagall and Dumbledore came in, carrying a stiff body. A first year muggleborn Gryffindor had been petrified.

"So, everyone was even more on edge. Then a notice went up, saying that there would be a duelling club after dinner one day. But it didn't say who was running it. Hermione obviously thought it would be Flitwick, considering he used to be a master dueller. So, we show up and low and behold, it's Lockhart. Because someone thought it would be a good idea to give him even more power. To make it better, he introduced his assistant, Snape. So, I was regretting going already. Snape gets me and Malfoy up to demonstrate a duel and that's all good and fine until Malfoy summons a snake with the serponsortia spell."

"But that's fine, one of the teachers would have just banished it or something," Remus said.

"Moony, he said it was Lockhart and Snivellus," Sirius said.

"Well, Snape went to banish it but Lockhart, proving how smart he is, tried to do it and ended up blasting the snake towards a student and the snake thought it would be a great idea to attack that student. I stopped the snake and then suddenly everyone thought I was the Heir of Slytherin."

"You stopped the snake ... you're a Parselmouth?" Remus asked.

"Yep. Had no clue until Ron told me though. I had spoken to a snake before, and set it on Dudley, but anyway. Everyone thinks I'm the heir and then the person I stopped the snake attacking was petrified, along with Nearly Headless Nick."

"How does a ghost get petrified?"

"I'll get to that. To make it even better, I was the one who found them. The only person we knew who has such a hatred towards muggleborns would have was Malfoy, and Hermione came up with an idea on how to infiltrate Slytherin to ask him. The only thing we could find was Polyjuice."

"Well, that ideas out the window. You wouldn't have been able to find the recipe or the ingredients to make it," Sirius said hopefully.

"You seriously don't understand how determined we are. Hermione got permission to get the book from Lockhart and then stole the needed ingredients from Snape's personal stores. We made the Polyjuice and it was ready by Christmas and Malfoy happened to have stayed for the holidays. Ron and I turned into Crabbe and Goyle and Hermione decided she wasn't coming.

"We didn't get anything useful out of Malfoy by the time the Polyjuice was wearing off, so we made an excuse and left. We found Hermione still in the bathroom that we had left her in, and she still refused to come out. You see, she had mistaken the hair she had. It was a cat hair."

"How long?" Remus asked with a shudder.

"A month. While Hermione was in the hospital wing, I found a diary that had nothing written in it. I kept it and realised how it worked after ink was spilled all over it. Any ink on it seeps into the pages and someone wrote back. The person who wrote back knew about the Chamber and had been in school when it was opened 50 years prior. He somehow showed me him catching the person who was responsible, Hagrid.

"Well, Ron pointed out that that would be a great conversation. 'Hey Hagrid, have you been setting something large and hairy on people lately?' So, we decided we would only talk to him if we had to. We were walking down to a quidditch game when Hermione had an idea and ran off to the library. Then McGonagall told everyone that the game was cancelled, and that Ron and I had to go with her to the hospital wing. Hermione had been petrified.

"We decided that we had to go talk with Hagrid, but when we get there, Dumbledore, Fudge and Lucius Malfoy appear. Fudge came to arrest Hagrid and Malfoy to dismiss Dumbledore. Dumbledore somehow knew we were there and left a message for us, and Hagrid told us to follow the spiders. Ron loved that.

"So, we spent a week looking for spiders before we find a trail of them going into the forest. That night we follow them deeper and deeper until we came to a nest. Aragog, Hagrid's pet acromantula, gave us the answers we needed, before telling his family that they could eat us. We managed to escape, with the help of Mr Weasleys car which had gone wild in the forest. But we worked out that the girl who had died last time, had died in a bathroom. What if she never left?"

"One second cub. Go back to the part about Aragog. Did you say he was an acromantula?"

"Yeah," he replied, running his hand through his hair. Sirius sighed, downing another calming draught. Harry was starting to think this was a bad idea; the amount of calming draughts they had both taken in such a short time couldn't be healthy, even with the fact that they were diluted.

"We decided we had to speak to Moaning Myrtle, because we were pretty sure she was the one who had died. But McGonagall caught us on the way to speak to her and I managed to convince her we were going to see Hermione, so she let us go to the hospital wing. It was a good thing we did because we found a piece of paper in Hermione's hand, detailing what the monster in the chamber was."

"I'm scared to even ask what the monster was," Sirius said.

"Yeah, so, what the monster was made a whole lot of sense. I could hear it in the walls because it was travelling through the pipes and only I could hear it because I'm a Parselmouth, and all of Hagrid's roosters had been killed."

"Please tell me it wasn't a basilisk," Remus pleaded. He nodded, causing Remus and Sirius to pale drastically.

"How did no one die?" Sirius asked.

"The cat saw the reflection on the ground when the bathroom had flooded. Colin saw through his camera. Justin saw through Nearly Headless Nick and Nick was already dead so he couldn't die again, even with the full blast. And Hermione had just worked it out and was found with a mirror. So, we were going to tell McGonagall what we had discovered when there was an announcement for all students to go back to our common rooms.

"The teachers were going to close the school. Someone had been taken directly into the chamber. There was another message. 'Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever.'"

"Who was it?" Sirius breathed.

"Ginny Weasley. The teachers sent Lockhart to rescue her, so Ron and I went to tell him what we had figured out. And we found him packing. We forced him to come with us down to the Chamber because neither of us were going to leave Ginny to die. I opened the entrance to the Chamber, which is in the girl's bathroom on the second floor. We sent Lockhart down first before following him."

"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in a girl's bathroom?" Sirius asked.

"Ron's reaction. We get down there and Lockhart surprises Ron and managed to get his wand and tried to Obliviate us. Except Ron's wand was still broken and the spell backfired and blew the roof out. The roof collapsed, cutting me off from the other two. Ron was going to shift the stones so I could get back and I continued on so that I could save Ginny.

"I saw Ginny lying on the floor and in my rush to get to her, my wand slipped out of my hand. I tried to get her to wake up, she was still breathing. Then Tom Riddle, the person who wrote back in the diary, appeared. He told me how he had been sucking Ginny's life force out of her, growing stronger as she grew weaker. He had my wand, so I couldn't do anything against him. He wanted to know how I stopped Voldemort."

"But Voldemort was after his time," Remus said.

"That's what I thought," Harry replied, before bringing his wand to his hand. He wrote Tom's name in the air, spelling out 'Tom Marvolo Riddle', before he cast the same spell Tom had, making the letters rearrange to spell out 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

"Shit," Sirius breathed. It showed how tense they both were that Remus didn't even scold him.

"And then he called the basilisk and told the basilisk to kill me." Remus and Sirius gulped down another calming draught each; that seriously couldn't be a healthy amount. None of them had taken that many that quickly when they were talking about his childhood.

"I closed my eyes and ran, trying to avoid the basilisk. I said something about Dumbledore, I can't really remember what, but suddenly Fawkes was there with the Sorting Hat. Fawkes pecked the basilisk's eyes out and I could see again. I had nothing to defend myself with, so I grabbed the sorting hat and put it on, hoping for anything. A sword appeared and when the basilisk was close enough, I drove the sword through the roof of its mouth. Unfortunately, one of its fangs went through my arm."

He stopped talking as Remus was up and at his side in an instant, sniffing over the arm he had gestured to. He pulled up his sleeve, revealing the circular scar that had been left from the fang. Remus whined as he took in the wound.

"I could feel my life slipping away and so I figured that if I was going to die then I was taking Riddle with me so I pulled the fang out of my arm and drove it through the diary. I kept stabbing the diary until Riddle disappeared and Ginny woke up. Fawkes came over to me and cried on my wound, healing me. I managed to get up and Ginny and I left the Chamber and found Ron waiting for us with Lockhart who couldn't remember anything, even his own name.

"We went to McGonagall's office where Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, McGonagall and Dumbledore all were. We told them what had happened, Dumbledore awarded Ron and I 200 points each, as well as an award for special services to the school, for saving a fellow student and the school and we had a feast at around midnight. Everyone who was petrified was woken up and everything ended fine."

Sirius and Remus stared at him, unblinking. He looked down at the table, noticing that they had gone through all the calming draughts that Remus had brought.

"Ok, so last year was a good year for you?" Remus asked. He looked up again an shrugged.

"Yeah, pretty much," he agreed.

"Do you ever get a break pup?" Sirius asked. Harry shrugged again, honestly wondering the same thing.


	13. Digging Deeper

The rest of July passed quickly. It was agreed that Ron, Hermione and Ginny would come over every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for training. They had convinced their parents to allow it to be almost a full day visit as well. They would arrive at 10 o'clock and would study together until lunch. After lunch they would spend an hour in the library reading whatever they wanted. Then, from 2 until 5 they would train in duelling.

Harry quite enjoyed the days were his friends would come over. While in the library, he and Ginny were able to discuss what they had found about their bond. So far, they hadn't found much, but they had found some things. Ginny had found a book that told of how the connection worked.

_The connection of a soul bond is a connection between souls. It forms after a close relationship has been established. Due to the fact that it connects the souls of two people, the bond has many different abilities. The abilities appear as the bond gets stronger or when the bond has reached its fullest. The most common abilities that the bond brings are the ability to sense where the other person is at all times as well as being able to feel their emotions. Once the bond has strengthened enough, their magic will also increase in power, especially when around each other._

Harry, meanwhile, had found one that talked about when the abilities would surface.

_The abilities from a soul bond all appear at different stages of the connection. The first ability that appears normally appears a month or two after the formation of the bond, which is the ability to sense where the other person is. Sharing emotions is the second ability to form. It is formed as the bond strengthens and the awareness of each other grows. Sometimes, the abilities that one person already has will also be shared with the other. Next is the ability to talk in your minds with each other. This ability comes when the bond reaches its fullest, the strongest it will get, or when the couple goes through extremely stressful experience where one feels the extreme need to communicate with the other. The bond simply needs to reach a point where it is strong enough for the mind connection to form, a point that is different for every bond. Once the mind connection is formed, the ability to see through each others eyes may arise. It is a difficult ability and one that many couples don't access._

That was all the information they could find from the Potter library, as well as any books that Ginny had been able to find. They were sitting together on a couch, Ginny leaning on Harry, discussing their findings.

"So, according to the book, we should begin to know where each other is soon?" Harry asked.

"Well, that is what the book said. But it hasn't even been a month yet," Ginny replied.

"It mentioned abilities one person has being shared with the other. Would that mean that my ability to see traces of magic would be passed onto you?"

"Possibly. It said sometimes though, so it probably depends on the bond. What about our powers increasing. It will be hard to hide our bond if our magic is stronger together, and just more powerful overall."

"We'll work it out," Harry said, leaning forward slightly and brushing his lips over Ginny's forehead. She smiled and tilted her head slightly before lifting it to kiss him. Harry smiled as they broke apart.

"I was actually impressed with how much information we were able to find on soul bonds. The first few books I read indicated that they were really rare," Harry commented as he ran his fingers through Ginny's hair.

"Well, from what I understand, most of the books we found our information in were pretty old. And soul bonds weren't as rare in the past as they are now. About 500 years ago, soul bonds could be seen 3 times each generation per continent. Now though, we are lucky to have 1 soul bond every 100 years or so in each continent." Harry hummed in reply. That would make sense.

Ginny suddenly sat up, moving to the other end of the couch and turning to face Harry, book in her hands. Harry was about to ask why when Ron appeared from the shelves.

"Come on guys, duelling time," he said, before walking back into the rows of shelves. Harry stood, before offering a hand to his girlfriend.

"How did you know?" he asked as he led her towards the entrance of the library.

"I have my ways," Ginny replied. Harry raised one eyebrow but didn't say anything as they reached the others at the front of the library.

"Lead on," Harry said, gesturing for Hermione and Ron to head out first. They complied, allowing Harry to keep talking with Ginny as they walked to the duelling room.

"Fine. I set up an alert ward on the bookshelves surrounding us, to go off if Hermione or Ron were heading towards us," Ginny finally said.

"Smart," he replied, before turning and kissing her. He pulled away and ran off, leaving Ginny to chase after him.


	14. Birthday

The weeks passed quickly, and it was soon the end of July, and Harry's birthday. He was woken up in a way that he wouldn't want to repeat, but he most likely would, knowing Sirius. Sirius had jumped onto his bed, as Padfoot, and started licking him. He had pushed Padfoot off the bed, grumbling about dog breath. They had had a normal breakfast, followed by Remus announcing the plans for the day.

"We aren't going to train or anything today. We decided to give you the day off. The Weasleys and Hermione are coming over at noon for your party as well."

He hadn't wanted anything big, but Sirius had insisted on throwing him a party. So, they all found themselves out in the garden at noon.

The house elves had done a great job setting up for the party. There was a large table laden with food and drinks. Mrs Weasley had brought a cake, after arguing with Sirius, Remus and the house elves, and it was placed in the middle of the food table. It was decorated with images of people flying around on broomsticks, and a snitch on the top, which occasionally fluttered its wings. Another table was covered in presents and had chairs all around it.

Everyone was just enjoying the sunshine, talking in small groups and just mucking around. Harry already knew that it would be his best birthday. Soon, Remus called everyone in, declaring that it was time to open presents. The group moved towards the present table, sitting in a semicircle around Harry so as to watch him open the gifts. Harry sat down before reaching for the gift on top.

He was amazed by everything he was given. Hermione gave him a pack of sugar-free lollies, as well as a book on duelling that she was pretty sure wasn't in the Potter library. Ron had given him an assortment of lollies. Mr and Mrs Weasley had gifted him with a large number of baked goods. Fred and George had, predictably, given him pranking products. Percy had given him a book about jobs at the ministry, which would probably come in handy in a few years. Ginny's gift was a string bracelet that she had made herself. She had also given him a few charms to attach to it, a snitch and a broomstick. Remus had given him books about DADA and a wand holster. Sirius had spoiled him, saying he had 13 years of birthdays to make up for. He had received books about various things, as well as a practice snitch, which would fly around but stay in a set area. The best gift from Sirius though, was the last one he had received. It looked very much like a broomstick and he was shocked to see what was inside.

"That's a firebolt," Ron exclaimed as the wrapping fell away.

"I was going to give it to you for Christmas last year, but the owl order didn't deliver it in time," Sirius explained. Harry just gaped at the gift. It was amazing.

"Thanks, Padfoot," he said when he finally recovered from his shock. "Thank you everyone for your amazing gifts."

"Are you going to try the broom out?" George asked.

"I've always wanted to see a firebolt in action," Fred agreed.

"After cake, maybe," he replied.

"Yes, cake time," Mrs Weasley announced. She brought the cake over, floating it onto the table that was now clear of presents. Harry sat there awkwardly as everyone sang happy birthday, having no clue what he was meant to do. It reached the time to blow out his candles and he blew them out in one go.

'I wish that Ginny and I will be happy together, forever,' he thought as he blew the candles out. He was then handed a knife and set to cutting the cake into 11 pieces and handing them out. Everyone ate the cake quietly, only talking to complement Mrs Weasley on the taste. It really was a very nice cake.

Soon, everyone was finished and the Weasleys were badgering Harry about trying the firebolt. It didn't take much, as he wanted to try it out too.

"Ok, I'll try it out. Do you guys want to come to the quidditch pitch and have a fly?" he said. He moved forward and picked up the broom. He headed out to the quidditch pitch, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Hermione following him. He led them to the broom cupboard, where many different brooms were.

"Take your pick of the brooms. None of them have been used in a while though, they're my dad's old ones," he said. Each of the Weasleys grabbed a broom, while Hermione decided she would stay on the ground. They moved out to the middle of the pitch and Harry mounted his broom first. He kicked off from the ground and shot into the air, higher and faster than he had before.

The wind rushed around him as he tested out his broom, pushing it to its limits. It responded easier than his nimbus had, only the slightest touch needed to change direction, speed or height. He suddenly felt a rush of emotions that weren't all his. Happiness, elation and joy that were his, as well as slightly paler happiness and joy. He hovered in the air, searching for Ginny. Soon enough, he found her with a wide grin on her face as she flew. He was pretty sure the paler feelings were hers.

Eventually, the group landed, knowing that it was almost time for the others to go home. Hermione was still standing where they had left her, a small smile on her face.

"Looks like you enjoyed yourselves," she commented.

"Yeah, that was the best broom I've ever flown on," Ron said, glee evident in his voice.

"It was fun being able to just fly to my hearts content," Ginny commented.

"You definitely know how to fly Ginny," Fred said.

"Yeah, how did you get so good?" George asked.

"You never flew with us," Ron added. Ginny just grinned.

"That's a secret," she said, before walking off towards the broom shed. Harry noticed that Hermione seemed amused by the conversation between siblings. He moved close to her, so he could talk without the others hearing.

"You know, don't you," he stated.

"Maybe. But you'd have to ask her yourself if you want to find out," Hermione replied, before turning and making her way back to the garden.

"Come on, let's put our brooms away," Harry said. They all moved to the shed and deposited their brooms there, while Harry kept his with him, wanting to put it in his room.

"You guys go back to the party, I'm just going to put this in my room," he told them. Fred, George and Ron nodded, heading back to the gardens, while Harry made his way back to the house. He found Ginny waiting for him in his bedroom.

"How'd you know I'd be coming up here?" he asked.

"As if you would leave your new broomstick in the broom shed, where you could forget to bring it to Hogwarts," she replied. He shrugged; she wasn't wrong.

"Did you feel what I felt?" she asked, moving to sit on his bed.

"Do you mean a second set of emotions?" he asked. Ginny nodded and he smiled.

"I could feel your happiness and joy for flying, but they were paler, I guess you would say. Like, I could feel them, but they weren't really there."

"Yeah, that's how I felt too. I wonder if each others feelings will stay pale or if they will become stronger," Ginny said. She turned to look at Harry when he didn't reply.

"I don't know, honestly. I guess we'll just learn as we go. And our bond is obviously slightly different than the one from the book. Didn't the book say that sense the other's presence was first and then emotions, not the other way around?" Ginny nodded and moved closer, capturing his lips on hers. The kiss was strong and passionate, but they soon pulled away, needing air.

"Happy Birthday Harry," Ginny whispered, before pulling him up and out of the room. Together, they headed back out to the garden. Ginny let go of his hand before they reached the door, but still stayed at his side.

"Did you like the new broom?" Sirius asked when he saw them exit the house.

"Yeah, it's amazing," Harry replied.

"Now, I know you've already opened all your presents but there is one more gift that Sirius and I want to give you," Remus said. Harry nodded, not knowing what to expect. Remus handed him an envelope, which he slowly opened. Inside, were three tickets. He pulled them out, and gasped when he read what the tickets were for.

"The Quidditch World Cup?" he asked.

"We managed to co-ordinate it so that our seats are next to the Weasleys as well," Sirius said. Harry beamed at his guardians. This birthday just kept getting better and better.


	15. Quidditch World Cup

Harry was woken up on the 25th of August in the same way he was woken on his birthday, with Padfoot jumping on him.

"Get off Padfoot," he grumbled, pushing the dog off his bed. Sirius transformed back into a human as he hit the floor.

"Get up pup. Our portkey leaves in about half an hour," Sirius said.

"But it's five thirty in the morning," Harry groaned after putting his glasses on his face.

"And our portkey leaves at 6," Sirius replied.

"Why so early. We already have our tickets and campsite booked," Harry complained as he pulled himself out of bed.

"It's all part of the experience. Come on now, breakfast is ready downstairs." Harry groaned again. He shoved Sirius out of the room so he could get dressed.

He appeared downstairs 5 minutes later, fully dressed and wand in his wand holster on his arm. He slumped into a chair at the table, asking for coffee instead of his normal hot chocolate. He didn't drink coffee often, but he needed it today to wake up more. Eventually, they all stood and moved to the entrance chamber. Remus pulled a piece of string from his pocket and they all grabbed hold; they had a private portkey due to the fact that the ministry was still bending over backwards for Sirius.

At exactly 6 o'clock, a jerk behind the navel had then pulled out of Potter Manor, to land in an empty field, save for two wizards.

"6 o'clock private portkey," one of the wizards said. Remus nodded, handing the string to him before being instructed on where they were staying. They walked through the field until they found a section of grass with a sign saying _Black_. It took a while set up the tent, Remus insisted on doing it the muggle way, before going inside to see the layout of the tent.

"I'm going to go find the Weasleys and Hermione," Harry said after getting settled.

"Ok cub just be back for lunch," Remus said.

Harry agreed and headed off to explore the camp ground. He had a gut instinct telling him that Ginny was here and he followed that instinct to find her. It didn't take long for him to find the Weasley tent. He stepped near the opening but didn't enter.

"Hello," he called. Ginny emerged from the tent, a smile on her face.

"Hey Harry. Hermione and Ron have just gone to get water. How long did you look for us?" she asked.

"Not long, I was just following a feeling to you," he said with a shrug.

"Makes sense, I could sort of tell that you were here. You can come in if you want, the twins are in here. Percy, Bill and Charlie haven't arrived yet." Harry followed her into the tent. Fred and George were sitting at the table, complaining about their mum confiscating their prank products.

"What did your mum confiscate?" Harry asked.

"Our prank sweets. We spent six months developing them," George groaned.

"That sucks. Why are you inventing prank sweets?"

"We want to open a prank shop. Figured it wouldn't hurt to start inventing while still in school," Fred replied. Just then, Ron and Hermione came back into the tent.

"Oh Harry, how long have you been here?" Hermione asked after setting down her bucket of water.

"Our portkey arrived at 6, but I only got here about 5 minutes ago."

"Who are you rooting for mate?" Ron asked.

"Probably Ireland. You?"

"Ireland. But Krum is a brilliant seeker." They then spent over an hour debating the best of each team. Harry only realised the time when Percy strode in, followed by two other red-haired boys.

"I have to get back to my tent. I told Remus I'd be back for lunch," he said, standing.

"Before you go, I'll introduce you to my brothers," Ron said. "This is Bill, the oldest. Bill, this is my best mate, Harry Potter." Harry shook hands with the taller of the two. Bill had long hair tied up in a ponytail, as well as an earring with a fang. His clothes looked like he had come from a rock concert.

"Nice to meet you Harry," Bill said, releasing his hand.

"This is Charlie, Charlie this is Harry." Charlie moved forward to shake his hand. His hands were calloused and blistered. He was shorter and stocky, built like the twins. He was so freckly he was almost tanned, and he had a large, shiny burn on one arm.

"Nice to meet you both. I have to get going now," Harry said. He headed out of the tent and made his way back to his tent. He spent the time until dusk talking with his guardians about many things.

At dusk, wizards began apparating every few feet, selling merchandise. Harry made his way back to the Weasley tent. Along with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, he wandered around the field, buying any souvenirs that looked interesting. Ron ended up with dancing shamrock hat and large green rosette, along with a miniature figure of Victor Krum. Hermione bought them all programs, while Harry bought four pairs of omnioculars. Ginny didn't buy anything for herself. A bright light suddenly lit up a path leading into the forest.

"It's time, come on," Mr Weasley said, finding them in the middle of the field along with the other Weasleys. Harry followed the rest of the group into the stands, heading up and up into the very top of the stands.

"We're in the top box. Ludo Bagman got us such good seats, and the Ministry will do almost anything for Sirius after his wrongful imprisonment," Mr Weasley said as they climbed the stairs. They finally reached the top box, finding Remus and Sirius already waiting for them. Also, in the top box was Minister Fudge, along with the Bulgarian Minister.

The Malfoy family arrived after them, and a house elf was sitting in a seat, hands covering her eyes. Harry sat down next to Sirius and Ginny sat down next to him. Ron and Hermione sat in the same row, with the rest of the Weasleys behind them. Ludo Bagman ran in at the last minute.

"Are we ready ministers?" he asked. At nods from both ministers, Ludo Bagman amplified his voice and addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty second Quidditch World Cup! Allow me to introduce the Bulgarian team mascots, veela." A group of about 100 women entered the pitch. Harry could tell they were beautiful, although he thought Ginny was more beautiful. The twins were standing on their chairs, while Mr Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy had their ears plugged and eyes shut tight. Ron was shredding the shamrocks on his hat. Sirius and Remus didn't seem to be affected, by whatever power the veela had, although Remus' knuckles had gone white where he was clenching his fists.

"And please welcome the Irish team mascots, leprechauns." A green and gold comet shot onto the field, circling once before breaking into two comets. The comets started raining gold as they passed over the stands. Once at either end of the pitch, a shimmering rainbow connected the two comets. The comets merged and became a shamrock, before sinking to the ground.

"Introducing the teams. For the Bulgarian National Team. Ivanova, Zograf, Levski, Vulchanov, Volkov and Krum." A scarlet clad figure shot out onto the pitch with each name.

"The Ireland National Team. Connolly, Ryan, Troy, Mullet, Moran, Quigley and Lynch." Green blurs shot out this time and soon the game was underway.

It was quidditch like Harry had never seen it played before. The figures moved so fast, they were only blurs on the pitch. Bagman had only enough time to say the name of the chaser before the quaffle was passed on again. The game was abruptly ended when Krum caught the snitch, leaving the scores as Bulgaria 160, Ireland 170. The twins were delighted, having bet that that would happen.

They all filed out of the top box, stunned by the way it had ended. It would definitely be a match to remember. They headed back to the tents, Sirius and Remus inviting the Weasley party back to their tent for some hot drinks before bed.

"I really want to try out some of the moves Krum performed when we get back to school," Harry said, sipping at his hot chocolate.

"McGonagall would kill you if she saw you performing the Wronski Feint," Ron said offhandedly.

"I'm pretty sure you'd give me a heart attack if you did that," Hermione said.

"Oliver would think you were amazing if he hadn't graduated last year," Fred commented. George nodded in agreement. Mr Weasley decided it was time for bed when Ginny fell asleep, causing her hot chocolate to spill across the table. The Weasleys and Hermione headed out of the tent and Harry retired to his room.

It was only a few hours later that Harry was woken up to screams. Sirius and Remus were already dressed, wands out.

"Get up, get dressed and go to the woods. Try and find the others, but most importantly, stay safe," Sirius said, running out of the tent. Remus only waited for Harry to quickly pull on a cloak before following him. Harry ran out of the tent and was swept up in the crowd. He wanted to help, but didn't really want to face his godfather and an overprotective werewolf if he didn't do what he was told.

He was finally able to stop after he entered the forest. He immediately focused on his bond with Ginny and where she was. He followed his gut instinct and was led to the middle of the forest. Ginny was sitting on a log, with Fred and George standing nearby. Ron and Hermione were scanning the trees and relief crossed their faces as he emerged from the trees.

"What's going on out there?" Harry asked.

"People are attacking the muggles," Fred replied tensely.

"We should be safe here, it's deep enough in the forest," George added. The others nodded and Harry moved to sit next to Ginny. Ron and Hermione sat on some rocks while Fred and George remained standing. Ginny shifted slightly so that she was leaning on Harry, head resting on his shoulder. Harry moved his arm around her, hugging her slightly. They all sat in silence, listening to the faint screams and spell fire. Harry felt Ginny move slightly, stiffening under his arm.

"Someone's moving over there," Ginny whispered, pointing towards a large patch of trees to their right. Harry flicked his wrist and his wand shot into his hand from his holster. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George followed his lead, drawing their wands and pointing them in the direction Ginny had pointed. No sound or movement were heard for a short period of time. As they began lowering their guard, they heard a low, hoarse voice shout out an incantation.

"Morsemordre." A green light shot up into the air, twisting itself into a shape of a skull and serpent. At first, Harry thought it was just an odd type of firework, but then he looked at the faces around him.

"That's the dark mark," Fred whispered.

"You-Know-Who's sign," George added. Ron was pale and Ginny looked sick. Pops sounded all around them and Harry knew, instinctively, that they were about fire.

"Duck," he said. The group ducked just as shouts of stupefy came from all around them. Red lights shot through the air above them, but none of them were hit.

"Stop. That's my godson." Harry heard the familiar voice of Sirius ring out over the sound of spells. The spells stopped and Sirius hurried forward, followed by Mr Weasley.

"Are you six okay?" Mr Weasley asked. They all nodded, albeit a bit shakily.

"You six have been discovered at the scene of the crime. So, who was it?" One of the people from the circle stepped forward, wand still raised.

"It wasn't us. The person who cast the spell was over there," Harry said, pointing at the place the mark had come from. Someone moved over to the patch of trees, searching for the person who had cast the mark. He came back carrying a house elf and a wand. Harry nudged Ginny as soon as he saw the wand.

"That's yours, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

"It looks like it. I lost it some time between the match and this disaster," Ginny whispered back.

"This house elf was the only being in that clearing, and she was holding this wand," the person carrying the house elf said.

"It couldn't have been her that cast the spell," Hermione interjected.

"And why is that?"

"Because the voice we heard cast it was low and hoarse and house elves have high pitched voices," Hermione said hotly.

The gathering of people seemed sceptical at that, proceeding to revive and interrogate the elf. Ten minutes later, the gathering of people, who all worked at the ministry Harry had discovered, agreed that the house elf, Winky, was not the one to cast the spell. However, her master, Mr Crouch, had given her clothes because she hadn't stayed in the tent.

"Excuse me, but are we done here? I would like to get the children back to bed," Mr Weasley said. The ministry officials all nodded, and Sirius started to usher the group out of the woods. Ginny wouldn't move though, and Harry thought he knew why; he could feel her determination. He stayed by her side, even as Sirius tried to get them to move. He held up one finger to Sirius, who thankfully got the message. Wait a minute.

"Before I go, I would appreciate being given back my wand," Ginny declared.

"Your wand?"

"Yes, the one that Winky somehow got a hold of. I lost it between the match and the start of the commotion and would like it back." She held out her hand, showing that she was expecting her wand to be handed over. Many looks were exchanged before they finally relented, handing the wand over to its owner.

"Thank you," Ginny said, pocketing the wand and turning to follow the group back to the campsite, Harry and Sirius at her heels.


	16. School Again

The rest of the holidays passed without incident, other than the news that Wormtail had escaped Azkaban. Ginny didn't have a party or anything for her birthday, instead just having a family celebration. Harry sent her a gift with Hedwig, a necklace with a heart locket. Their ability to feel each others emotions had strengthened and he always had a sense of where she was. Their duelling training continued, changing to duelling with each other, or two on one, to get used to an actual duel.

They visited Diagon Alley to collect his school books and Harry was confused when Sirius bought him dress robes, simply saying they were on the school list. Before Harry knew it, it was September 1st. He was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, but he didn't want the summer to end. It did end though and soon he was saying goodbye to Remus and Sirius and boarding the Hogwarts Express. He got there at the same time as Hermione and they claimed a compartment. He dumped his trunk before heading back onto the platform to wait for the Weasleys. He stood next to Sirius, hugging him tight.

"Are you sure you won't tell me what's happening at Hogwarts this year?" he asked. Remus laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Yes, I'm sure. You'll find out soon enough anyway cub." The Weasleys appeared next to them and Harry and Hermione helped Ron and Ginny get their trunks onto the train. All four jumped off to say a final goodbye to their families. Charlie hugged Ginny, smiling as he pulled away.

"I'll be seeing you sooner than you think," Charlie said.

"Why? What's happening at Hogwarts?" Fred asked.

"Can't tell you that," Sirius said.

"I actually wish I was back at Hogwarts this year," Bill sighed.

"Why? What's happening?" George asked.

"You'll find out later today," Remus said.

"Now, don't forget to write. Feel free to come home for Christmas, although I feel you will have more important things to do," Mrs Weasley said.

"How come?" Ron asked.

None of the adults answered, instead just bustled them all onto the train, telling them to have a good year. The train started moving and they all leaned out the window, waving goodbye.

"What's happening at Hogwarts?" the four boys all yelled out the window. None of the adults replied, only laughing before apparating away. They all moved away from the window, Fred and George leaving for a compartment with their friends.

"You staying here or going to find your friends Gin?" Harry asked.

"I think I'll go find Luna. I might come back later," she replied. Harry smiled at her as she left the compartment. They all sat down, discussing what could be going on at Hogwarts.

"It's probably something that will go all year. Since we had to get dress robes. They'll probably be for a something around Christmas, right?" Hermione suggested.

"I hope the thing for dress robes is optional," Ron groaned. He pulled out his dress robes from his trunk and Harry winced in sympathy at the sight of them. They were covered in frills and didn't seem as if they had been in fashion for at least a century.

"I'm sure we can fix them. Maybe," Hermione said.

"Lavender might be able to help. How are the twins' dress robes?" Harry asked.

"Theirs look fine. They got hand me downs from Bill and Charlie from when they used to have a Yule Ball at Hogwarts every Christmas. The one time I ask for something new rather than hand me downs is the one time the new ones are worse," Ron groaned.

The rest of the train ride passed quickly. Ron was in a bad mood after a visit from Malfoy, but other than that the trip was pretty good. Ginny didn't show up, but Harry knew she was having a great time with her friend, so he didn't care. They got off the train as thunder rumbled overhead. The sky was pitch black and the rain was bucketing down. By the time they reached the Castle, they were all soaked. Entering the Entrance Hall, Harry jumped back as a water balloon hit the floor in front of him.

He looked up and saw Peeves floating above them, a large number of water balloons in his arms. He threw another water balloon and it hit Ron on the head. Professor McGonagall came rushing in from the Great Hall and glared up at Peeves.

"Peeves, stop that this instant," Professor McGonagall shouted up at him. Peeves cackled, throwing another balloon at a group of fifth year girls, who screamed.

"Not doing nothing. Already wet, aren't they?"

"I shall call the headmaster. I am warning you Peeves." Peeves stuck his tongue out, dropping the rest of the water balloons before zooming away. Everyone started moving towards the Great Hall, separating to the four house tables. Harry looked up to the head table, noticing a few empty seats. Hagrid's seat was empty as he was braving the Lake with the First Years and McGonagall was observing the clean-up of the entry hall.

"Where's the new Defence teacher?" Harry asked.

"No clue. Wonder when they'll get here though," Ron said.

"Why'd Lupin not come back? He was brilliant," Hermione commented.

"He said that he wanted a year off to get closer to Padfoot again. Promised he'd be back next year though," Harry said.

The Great Hall was soon full, and Professor McGonagall was leading the first years in. One boy in particular stood out to Harry. He was tiny and was draped in Hagrid's moleskin coat. The sorting went by quickly, the tiny boy becoming one of the new Gryffindors. The feast was greatly anticipated and Harry and Ron both happily tucked in as soon as the food appeared. Hermione was horrified when she found out that Hogwarts had a large amount of house elves. She seemed about to refuse to eat when Harry spoke up.

"Hermione, do you remember what I told you when you found out I have 3 house elves?" he asked, putting his knife and fork down to look at Hermione.

"Kind of," she admitted.

"Well, I'll remind you. House elves rely on being in the service of a family or organisation to be able to use their magic and survive. And if you offer to free a house elf, they will be extremely offended, Dobby was an exception, but there is always an exception to a rule," Harry explained. Hermione sighed.

"I don't like the idea of Hogwarts having that many slaves. But the way you say it makes it seem like they're not slaves," Hermione admitted.

"They're not slaves. They're more of ... helpers," he explained. Hermione nodded, going back to eating as dessert appeared. Dessert finished and Dumbledore stood, arms wide.

"I have a few start of term notices. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of items forbidden inside the castle has this year expanded to include Screaming yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs, to make a total of 437 banned items. As ever, I would like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest in the grounds is out of bounds, as is Hogsmeade Village to all under third year. It also pains me to announce that this year..."

He was interrupted by a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors slamming open. A scarred man stood in the doorway, a flash of lightning throwing his scars into fierce clarity. He made his way to the head table, a clunking heard with every other step. Dumbledore moved to greet the stranger. They exchanged hushed words, before Dumbledore gestured to the empty chair next to Flitwick.

"May I present our new Defence the Dark Arts teacher? Alastor Moody," Dumbledore said. A few people clapped, but the hall was mainly silent, stunned by his sudden and dramatic appearance. Dumbledore then seemed to remember where he was with his speech and picked back up.

"As I was saying, it is my regret to inform you that this year, the inter-house Quidditch Cup won't be held." He was cut off again, this time by noises of outrage from all around the hall. Harry was loudly protesting, as was the rest of the Gryffindor team.

"This is because your time and attention will be taken up by an event that will begin in October and carry on throughout the school year and will be taking up a lot of time and energy of all the teachers. It is my immense pleasure to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore announced, talking over some of the protests.

"YOU'RE JOKING!" Fred yelled, causing some laughs to occur around the hall.

"No Mr Weasley, I assure you I am not joking. Delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will arrive at Hogwarts on October 30th and will remain here for the rest of the year. Three champions will be chosen, one from each school. When the tournament was first set up, it was agreed as the most excellent way of establishing ties between witches and wizards of different nations.

"However, due to the death toll growing so high, it was discontinued. Only recently, have we decided to bring the tournament back, with extra restrictions to make it safer. Eager though I know most of you are to bring the Cup to Hogwarts, it was decided that only students who are of age, that is to say, 17 years of age, will be allowed to compete. This is to ensure the safety of the champions, as the tasks will be dangerous, and we feel that only a sixth or seventh year will be able to complete them." Fred and George were looking furious at that.

"Now, it is time for bed as classes start tomorrow. Chop-chop." The twins were muttering angrily with each other, talking about ways they could enter.

"They can't do that, it's completely unfair. We're 17 in April, we should get a shot," George complained.

"They're not going to stop me entering. And a thousand galleons prize money," Fred agreed. Ron had a faraway look in his eyes at the mention of the prize money.

"You going to enter Harry?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged. He really didn't want to enter; he didn't want the attention or need the gold, but it did sound nice to have the attention for something he actually achieved, rather than something he barely remembered. But, death toll? Maybe not something he wanted to enter. Plus, he had seen how Remus and Sirius had reacted to his story about his first two years at Hogwarts. He didn't think they would be able to take the stress. And he didn't need a worried werewolf on his case.


	17. School Delegations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've included the difference of speech from the accents as the book dictates, such as zey instead of they for the French and Bulgarian delegations. This is only going to appear in this chapter and after that all the talking will be the same, with accents implied as I don't know how to write accents at all am took the uses of accent straight from the original story, which doesn't belong to me.

The first few months of school were taken up by lots of talk about the Triwizard tournament amongst classes and homework. Many people were talking about what the other schools would be like, who they thought would enter, or the tournament. Many people had asked Harry if he was planning on entering. He made sure to let everyone who asked, know that he had no plans whatsoever to enter the tournament, or death trap as Hermione called it.

Ginny had come up to him the night of the announcement after everyone had gone to bed and told him that if he entered, she would do her best to make him miserable and that she didn't want her soul mate to be in that type of tournament because she wasn't sure if her heart could take it. He had cut off her rant by kissing her firmly. When he pulled away, he reassured her that he had no plan to enter.

"Good, because at one point it seem that you were considering it," she had said.

"It was a passing thought," he replied. She nodded, apparently happy with that answer, before kissing him again. She had then bid him goodnight and gone up to her dorm, leaving him feeling that, even if the day hadn't been the best, it had ended on a high note.

Classes over the two months hadn't been bad, apart from Moody demonstrating the Unforgivable curses on spiders and then putting each of them under the Imperius to teach them how to shake it off. Those lessons had been unsettling. He had been the only one in his class that could resist the Imperius and had been put under it three times until he could completely shake it off.

The others in his class hadn't been as lucky. Neville had performed acrobatics that he normally wouldn't have been capable of, Dean had hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem and Lavender imitated a squirrel. Another class that he wasn't enjoying was Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid had gotten his hands on Blast-Ended Skrewts, animals that had as many different dangerous aspects as possible.

They had stingers, suckers and their ends blasted off at random times, hence the name. He was pretty sure Hagrid had created them by cross-breeding; he couldn't find information on them anywhere.

Working with the emotions bond while in classes was a small challenge at the start. Harry was trying to brew a potion while Ginny was in an exciting Transfiguration class and her excitement had disrupted his concentration, making him almost ruin the potion. She had been in History of Magic, trying not to fall asleep, when he was under the Imperius curse and, according to her, the feeling of that was extremely weird and made her feel sick.

Soon enough, it was October 30th, the day the other schools were due to arrive. The last class of the day had been cut, which was good because it was potions for Harry and Snape had been hinting that he would be testing out their antidotes by poisoning one of them. They all dumped their bags in their dorms before going out to the front of the castle to wait for the other schools.

McGonagall was organising Gryffindor into rows by year, trying to make them look neat. Ginny managed to stand in front of Harry, her dorm mates around her.

"How'd you reckon they're coming? The train?" Ron asked as they stood outside the castle. It was a clear, cold evening and the moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. It was nearly six and Harry started searching the sky and the grounds, trying to work out where the other schools would be coming from.

Suddenly, he saw a shape in the sky, growing large by the second. A few other people started pointing at it as well. Many students started trying to work out what it was. It turned to be a gigantic powder-blue carriage pulled by dozen elephant sized, winged palominos. The door had two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three golden sparks.

A boy stepped out of the carriage, dressed in pale blue robes. He unfolded a set of golden steps before springing back respectively. Out stepped a woman who seemed to be as large as Hagrid, who seemed to be the Headmistress. Around a dozen boys and girls stepped out of the carriage after her. The woman stepped forward, greeting Dumbledore with a deep voice.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Madame Maxime," Dumbledore said. "Would your pupils like to wait for Durmstrang or go inside and warm up a bit?"

"Warm up, I think? But ze horses, they require a forceful 'andling."

"Our Care of Magical Creatures should be up to the job. Is there anything they require specifically?"

"Zey only drink single-malt whiskey," Madame Maxime said. She led her students inside, the Hogwarts students parting to let them through.

It didn't take long for Harry to spot a small amount of magic emitting from the lake. He pointed it out to Ron and Ron stared for a moment, before noticing the waves starting to occur. A ship rose from the lake and was moored on shore. A large group of people filed off, following a man who was presumably the headmaster.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore said as soon as the delegation from Durmstrang was close enough.

"Dear old Hogwarts, how good it is to be here. Come Viktor, into the warmth," Professor Karkaroff said, gesturing one of the students closer.

"You don't mind Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold." That's when Ron gripped Harry's arm tight.

"It's Viktor Krum. I didn't even think he was still at school," Ron exclaimed. A little way to his left, Harry could hear a group of girls trying to find a quill or something to use for an autograph. Hermione scoffed as they started arguing over a tube of lipstick.

"Girls, honestly."

"Hermione, you're a girl," Harry pointed out to her. Hermione huffed.

"I know that, thank you very much. I get reminded every month." Ron didn't seem to hear their conversation, as he was still staring at Krum. Ginny moved closer to Harry, leaning back into him. He unconsciously wrapped his arms around her, pulling her a bit closer, trying to warm her up.

"Do you think we can go in now and continue this conversation in the warmth of the castle?" Ginny asked quietly, looking to Dumbledore and Karkaroff who were still talking. Harry shrugged, because honestly, who knew.

Finally, Dumbledore moved aside, allowing the Durmstrang delegation to enter the castle. The Hogwarts students filed in after them, house by house. They reached the Great Hall to see the Durmstrang students and the Beauxbatons students standing around the edge of the hall, obviously unsure of where to sit. When the houses had all sat down at their respective tables, the Beauxbatons students moved to the Ravenclaw table, probably feeling better amongst others wearing blue. The students from Durmstrang hesitated a bit more, before Krum moved to sit at the table closest to him, the Slytherin table, the rest of his classmates following him.

The teachers filed in last, the three head teachers at the back of the line. When Madam Maxine appeared, all of the Beauxbatons students stood up, unembarrassed by the few giggles, and didn't sit down until their headmistress had. Dumbledore remained standing.

"Good evening ladies, gentlemen, ghosts and most importantly, guests. I have great pleasure welcoming you to Hogwarts and hope your stay is comfortable and enjoyable. The Tournament will be officially open at the end of the feast, but for now I invite you to eat, drink and make yourselves at home." Dumbledore sat down and food appeared.

There was a large range of foods, with many foreign dishes for the guests. About halfway through the dinner portion of the meal, a girl from Beauxbatons walked over to the table.

"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" she asked. Ron gaped at her, but Harry had no clue why.

"You can have it, we've finished with it," he replied, pushing the shellfish stew towards her.

"Thank you," she said, picking up the dish and making her way back over to the Ravenclaw table.

"She's a veela," Ron hissed as he watched her walk away. Many other heads were turning as she passed as well.

"Don't be silly Ron, Harry's not gaping like an idiot," Hermione said absentmindedly as she watched the head table. Harry looked to where she was staring and noticed two more people had joined them, Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman.

"Yeah, but Harry wasn't affected at the Quidditch Cup either," Ron replied. "Whatcha looking at?"

"Just wondering why Mr Crouch and Bagman are here," Hermione said, turning back to look at Ron.

"Well, they organised it. Probably want to be here when it starts," Ron said. He turned back to his food just as the dinner dishes were replaced with dessert. When the food had all disappeared, Dumbledore stood up again.

"The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket," he said. He then went on to explain the rules, safety procedures, judging panel and introduced Mr Crouch and Bagman. He finally finished talking and Filch deposited a casket in front of Dumbledore. Dumbledore opened the casket and removed a large, wooden cup, full to the brim with blue-white flames.

"Champions have until the beginning of the feast tomorrow to submit their name to the Goblet of Fire. To prevent any underage students entering, I shall be drawing an age line around the Goblet. Finally, I wish to impress upon you that entering the Tournament is not to be done on a whim. By submitting your name, you are entering a binding magical contract. If your name is chosen, you have to see the Tournament through to the end. Now, I think it's time for bed."

All the students stood up, heading out of the Great Hall. There was a commotion in the doorway, when Karkaroff spotted Harry's scar, but Moody quickly dealt with that, getting the people moving through the doorway again. They reached the common room and Harry collapsed onto a couch. Ron and Hermione followed, collapsing onto armchairs, while Ginny sat on the other side of the couch. Fred and George came in not long after, discussing ways around the age line.

"I was wondering who Veelas affect. I was just thinking back to the Quidditch World Cup and can't work out who they are meant to affect," Hermione said.

"They affect anyone attracted to girls," Ron explained. It sounded really simple and Harry already had an idea why it didn't work for him.

"It didn't affect Remus or Sirius at the World Cup," Hermione noted.

"Oh, Remus was affected, but it wasn't bad. He's bi with preference for men, well, a preference for Padfoot. Sirius is gay. They're together too," Harry replied easily. The others stared at him.

"What? It's not exactly a secret, they don't hide it."

"So, why weren't you affected mate?" Ron asked. He shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to say why. It was a private matter. Thankfully, Ginny saved him.

"The only people who aren't affected are people attracted to guys or people who are already truly in love with someone," she explained.

"So, who are you in love with mate?" Ron asked, eyebrows raised. Ginny shifted, moving over so that she was leaning on Harry.

"I'd hope your answer is your girlfriend," she said, gazing up at him. He smiled. Hermione smiled, obviously catching what they were saying. Ron, however, didn't.

"You have a girlfriend? You really shouldn't let Ginny sit so close if you do. Why didn't you tell us?" he said. Harry felt the indignation from Ginny, as well as how annoyed she was and leaned down, kissing her on the cheek.

"Of course, Gin. The answer is obviously going to be my girlfriend." He chose to not answer Ron, wanting him to figure it out himself. Or, for someone else to work it out. Fred and George looked at each other, before staring at Harry intently.

"You better take good care of our sister," they said together.

"You hurt her," Fred continued.

"We hurt you," George finished. Harry gulped slightly before nodding. He had seen what the twins could do with their pranks and really didn't want to be on their bad side. Ginny laughed and kissed him on the cheek again. They talked for a short time more, before heading up to bed, knowing that the next day would be just as eventful.


	18. Champions

The next day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny spend the whole day in the entrance hall. They watched everyone who put their name in or attempted to anyway. A thin, golden line was traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around the Goblet in every direction. Harry could make out a golden glow rising up from the golden line, like steam coming off the line.

They missed the Durmstrang students, having arrive just after they had left. They had just settled down to watch when Fred, George and Lee Jordan came hurrying down the staircase and into the entrance hall, going straight towards them. Ginny had just left, to get some breakfast from the Great Hall for them to enjoy in the entrance hall.

"Done it, just taken it," Fred whispered excitedly.

"What?" Ron asked.

"The aging potion, dungbrains," said Fred.

"One drop each, we only need to be a few months older," George added, rubbing his hands together.

"We've agreed to split the winnings if one of us win," Lee said, grinning broadly.

"It's not going to work you know," Hermione said, not looking up from her book. Fred, George and Lee ignored her.

"Ready? I'll go first," Fred said. He stepped over the line, pulling a piece of parchment from his pocket. For a second, Harry thought it had worked, before he noticed the golden smoke of magic that was rising from the line stop, swirling around the spot Fred had stepped over. Evidently, George had thought it had worked as well, as he jumped over the line with a whoop.

The swirling of gold intensified, until it had thickened so much that Harry was having trouble seeing the twins through it. Suddenly, the twins came flying out of the circle, thrown back by the magic that had gathered around them. Harry watched as the magic calmed down, going back to the slow rising it had originally been. He turned to look at the twins to see Lee laughing hysterically. He got a better look at the twins and noticed that they both had long beards growing.

"I did warn you," Dumbledore said, walking out of the Great Hall. "Madame Pomphrey is already tending to Miss Fawcett and Mr Summers, both of whom tried the same thing. Although, your beards are better than theirs, I must say." Fred and George picked themselves up and headed towards the Hospital Wing, laughing good-naturedly at their predicament. Ginny came back not long after, carrying a stack of toast on a napkin as well as a few pieces of bacon.

"What did I miss?" she asked. She had obviously felt Harry's amusement by the look on her face.

"Fred and George tried to beat the age line and now have beards to rival Dumbledore's," Harry said, grinning. Ginny smiled, sitting down next to Harry and passing the food across to them to share. Dean and Seamus came over half an hour later and sat down beside them.

"There's rumour going around that Warrington got up early and entered his name," Dean said.

"Warrington, the big Slytherin guy who looks like a sloth?" Ron asked. Harry nodded, having played against him in Quidditch.

"All the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," said Seamus. Just then Harry heard commotion coming from in front of them and looked up to see Angelina step over the line and drop a slip of parchment into the Goblet. She came over to them, as she headed to the Great Hall.

"I'm glad that someone from Gryffindor is entering," Hermione said, smiling up at Angelina.

"I really hope you get it," Ginny added.

"Thanks Hermione, Ginny," she said, before moving into the Great Hall. They all got out their homework, having decided to do it while watching people enter the tournament. Around lunchtime Harry looked up just in time to see the Beauxbatons enter the hall.

"Hey guys, show time," he said, causing the others to look up. They watched the group gather around the Goblet before forming a line. One by one they stepped over the line, dropping a piece of parchment into the Goblet before moving out of the way. They spent the rest of the day doing their homework while waiting to see if anyone else was going to enter their name.

When the time came for the Halloween feast to begin, they all hurried up to the common room, depositing their homework before heading back down to the Great Hall. By the time they reached the hall, it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved and was now sitting in front of Dumbledore's seat. They sat down across from a clean shaved Fred and George; they seemed to have taken the disappointment well.

"Hope it's Angelina," George commented as the food appeared. Harry nodded his agreement but was just silently hoping that he wouldn't be caught up in it somehow. He just wanted a quiet year. The Halloween Feast seemed to pass slower than normal as everyone eagerly waited to find out the school champions.

Finally, all the food disappeared from the golden plates and Harry cast his attention up to the head table. Dumbledore stood and the hall was instantly silent.

"I believe the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," he said. Harry looked at the Goblet for a few seconds, taking in the traces of magic swirling around it, growing brighter every second.

"Now, when the champions names are called, I ask them to come up to the top of the hall, walk along the staff table and into the next chamber," he pointed to a door at the side of the hall, "where they will be given the instructions regarding the first task."

The magic swirling around the Goblet was so bright that Harry thought that even the people who couldn't see magic should be able to see it, regardless that the ability was rare. The flames turned red and shot out a piece of parchment. Dumbledore snatched the parchment and announced the name to the hall.

"The champion for Durmstrang is Victor Krum," he called out. The Durmstrang students broke out into enthusiastic applause, while everyone else clapped politely. The flames were blue again, before turning red and shooting out another slip of parchment, which Dumbledore again plucked out of the air.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour," he announced. The Beauxbatons that weren't chosen looked disappointed, while the Hogwarts and Durmstrang students clapped politely. Ron was also gaping at the girl who he thought was a Veela as she walked to the front of the hall. As the applause died down the hall became a tense silence as the Hogwarts students waited to see who the champion would be. For a third time that night, the flames of the goblet turned red, shooting out a piece of parchment.

"The champion for Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory," Dumbledore announced. The noise that came from the Hufflepuff table could have been mistaken as an explosion, with how loudly they were cheering, stamping and clapping for their classmate. It was a long time before the students settled down enough for Dumbledore to make himself heard.

As the Hufflepuff table continued to go wild, Harry turned his attention to the Goblet, which was still emitting a blinding light. He had expected the magic around it to dim again, but it was still as bright as when it was choosing the names. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

"Are you ok?" Ginny whispered in his ear, squeezing his hand under the table.

"I can feel your worry."

"The magic around the Goblet hasn't settled down. I have a bad feeling," he murmured back. Ginny didn't have time to reply, as the applause had finally died down enough for Dumbledore to be heard.

"Excellent! Now we have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you to give your support to the champions. By cheering the champions on you will..." Dumbledore didn't finish what he was saying as the flames turned red again. Dumbledore grabbed the piece of parchment that was shot out of the goblet, staring at the name in front of him and Harry felt his stomach twist in apprehension.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore called, and Harry felt his stomach drop. He sat there for a moment, before Ginny nudged him, getting him to stand up. She offered him a kind smile, which he was grateful for, even while he felt her concern mixing with his worry. He walked up past the head table and into the side chamber, trying not to think about what this meant. He found the three champions standing around the fire. They turned as he shut the door, all looking at him.

"Do they want us back in the hall?" Fleur asked. Harry shook his head, unable to explain what had happened. Cedric searched his face, before obviously coming to a realisation of what happened.

"Are you..." he asked, trailing off. Harry nodded numbly. Cedric blanched. Bagman entered the chamber first. He smiled around before addressing them.

"Extraordinary. Gentlemen, lady, may I introduce, incredible though it may seem, the fourth Triwizard champion." Viktor Krum's face darkened as he looked between Cedric's pale face and Harry, who probably looked sick.

"You worked it out?" he asked, addressing Cedric.

"Harry's always involved in everything, some way or another. Even when he doesn't want it," Cedric said, glancing apologetically towards Harry as he spoke. They all waited in silence, Harry trying to suppress the worry that was coming from both him and Ginny. It wasn't long before the teachers came into the chamber.

"Madam Maxime, they are saying that this little boy is to compete also," Fleur exclaimed. Madam Maxime looked towards Dumbledore.

"What is the meaning of this Dumbly-dorr?" she demanded.

"Yes, I do not remember the rules saying that the hosting school gets two champions," Karkaroff said. "And we were under the impression that your age line would keep under aged students out of the tournament."

"It's no ones fault but Potter's. He has been breaking rules ever since he came to Hogwarts," Snape said, sneering.

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said. Dumbledore was now studying Harry, staring down at him. Harry stared right back.

"Did you enter your name in the Goblet of Fire Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"No. And I wouldn't have been able to cross the age line, the magic was incredibly strong," he replied. A few people made noises of surprise, but no one said anything.

"Did you ask an older student to enter your name for you?" Dumbledore continued.

"No. I had no wish to even enter this death trap," he said, recalling Hermiones name for the tournament. There was an argument between the teachers over how he had entered, and he just stood there, trying to repress any anger that they thought he would deliberately enter into an extremely dangerous tournament meant for people older than him. When he was told he would have to compete even though he hadn't put his name in, he felt sick and thought he might throw up. That was before he heard Ginny's voice in his head.

**Are you ok Harry?** He started, trying not show his astonishment to the adults who were still debating his involvement.

**Ginny? Yeah, I'm fine. Why? And how did you work this out?**

**I was just overwhelmed by anger, followed by feeling extremely sick. I panicked and just wanted to contact you.**

**I'll explain when I get back. But the main thing is that I have to compete even though I didn't enter.** He was brought back as the discussion ended, majority of the adults looking put out.

"Well, now that we have agreed that Mr Potter must compete. The first task is designed to test your daring, so we aren't telling you what it is. The first task will take place on November 24th in front of a panel of judges and you will only be equipped with your wand. You are not allowed to ask for or except help of any kind from the teachers with any of the tasks. You will receive information about the second task at the completion of the first," Barty Crouch explained.

"Owing to the demanding nature of the tournament, champions will be exempt from end of year exams. I think that is it?" He turned to Dumbledore who nodded.

"Cedric, Harry, I suggest you head up to bed. I'm sure Hufflepuff and Gryffindor will be waiting to celebrate with you, and we shouldn't deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise," Dumbledore said as everyone else left the chamber.

Cedric and Harry left the chamber together. Harry stopped Cedric before they parted ways.

"I'm so sorry. A chance for Hufflepuff to be in the spotlight, a chance for someone else to have all the attention and I come and steal the spotlight," he said.

"I believe that you didn't want to enter. You looked absolutely sick when you found out you had to compete. I'll make sure the rest of Hufflepuff understands that," Cedric said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks Cedric. And for the record, I'm rooting for you, even over myself." Cedric smiled before heading off to the Hufflepuff dormitory. Harry headed up to the common room, hoping everyone would understand he hadn't entered and didn't want to compete.


	19. Gryffindor Dorms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't clear in the last chapter, any writing in bold is Ginny and Harry communicating mentally through their bond.

Harry stopped outside the portrait of the fat lady, not ready to enter yet. The fat lady watched as he paced in the corridor, trying to work out what to do. He really didn't want to deal with the whole of Gryffindor tonight. He would have all day Sunday to do that. An idea came to him and he tried to contact Ginny.

 **Ginny?** He asked. He felt a connection snap between them, and her voice answered not long after.

**Yes Harry?**

**Can you get my invisibility cloak for me? It's next to my trunk. I'm not ready to face everyone yet.**

**Ok. I'll meet you out there in a few minutes.** He could feel the connection now that he was aware of it. It seemed that is was always open, allowing them communication, but nothing else.

Ginny stood up from where she had sat down after berating Ron for thinking Harry had entered his name. She hoped that it would help Ron realise that Harry wouldn't lie about entering; Harry needed all his friends supporting him right now. She excused herself and headed up to the fourth-year dorm. She quickly found his invisibility cloak, right where he had said it was.

She hid it under her cloak and headed down to the common room again. She waited a few minutes before standing up and heading to the portrait hole.

"Where are you going Ginny?" Hermione asked from her place by the fire. Everyone else was setting up a celebration, while she was reading in a chair, knowing Harry wouldn't want a celebration.

"I'm going to wait for Harry in the corridor. He's been gone ages." Hermione nodded, going back to her book. Ginny stepped out of the portrait hole, immediately spotting Harry pacing the corridor. She walked up to him and stopped him with a hug. He relaxed into her arms and hugged her back.

"Here," she said, stepping back and handing him his cloak. He took it with a thankful smile, throwing it over his shoulders, leaving his head uncovered, just floating in the air.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"Dumbledore asked if I entered, I told him no and I couldn't even cross the age line because the magic was really powerful. He asked if I got an older student to enter my name and I told him no and I hadn't even wanted to compete in the death trap. Then all the adults started debating how I could have entered and what it meant. Moody thinks someone entered me to get me killed. To top it off, they're not telling us what the first task is until the day," he said, sighing.

"Why couldn't I just have a quiet year. Is that too much to ask?" Ginny moved forward and hugged him again.

"You'll be fine. Come on, you can slip up to bed while everyone sets up the celebration for when you come back." Harry nodded and drew the cloak over his head. Ginny opened the portrait hole, giving Harry enough time to slip through before her. She stepped back into the common room, knowing Harry was probably already heading up to his dorm.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked. She had looked up when the portrait hole opened, frowning when she noticed Ginny was alone.

"McGonagall found me waiting in the corridor. She told me that the champions would probably be returning late and not to wait up for Harry." She moved towards Hermione and sat down next to her. The rest of the house groaned and started packing up the party things and the decorations around the common room. Hermione leaned closer.

"What really happened out there?" she asked softly.

"I took Harry his invisibility cloak. I figured he wouldn't want to be interrogated tonight and would want to slip to bed undetected. He has to compete and won't find out what the first task is until the day of. He's already headed up to bed," Ginny replied softly, guessing that Harry wouldn't mind her telling Hermione. Hermione nodded.

"Smart. Well, I'm heading up to bed. No point waiting up for someone who's already in bed."

"I might follow your example," Ginny replied. Hermione closed her book and headed up to the girl's dorms. Ginny waited a bit, before moving over to Fred and George.

"Don't wait up for him. He'll probably be exhausted by the time he gets back and will just want to go to bed," she told her older brothers.

"But the party," George protested. Ginny glared at him and he recoiled slightly.

"Tomorrow," she said, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. She then headed over to where Harry's room mates were gathered.

"Ron, Dean, Seamus, Neville," she said gaining their attention. "Don't question Harry when he gets back to the dorm. McGonagall said that he would be exhausted and will just want to go to bed. And don't wait up for him. He'll be late," she said, before turning away and making her way up to her dorm.

Harry slipped past the whole house gathered in the common room, preparations for a party well under way and almost finished. He quietly made his way up the stairs to the boys dorms and slipped into his shared room. He quickly changed and slipped under the covers of his bed. He covered himself with his invisibility cloak, knowing that Ginny would send the other boys up to bed soon enough.

He didn't have to wait long before he heard the other four boys walking up the stairs. He heard rustling of clothes and bed covers, quickly gathering the others were getting ready for bed. It waited for everyone's breathing to even out and Ron's snores to begin, before removing his cloak and tossing it to the end of his bed. Seamus, Dean and Ron all seemed to be asleep, while Neville was sitting up in bed.

"Hey Harry. I guessed you were up here already. Ginny waited too long before coming through the portrait hole and I know you have an invisibility cloak. I just wanted to tell you that I believe you didn't enter, you looked horrified when your name was called," Neville whispered. Harry smiled.

"Thanks, Neville, that means a lot," he replied, carefully watching his volume so he didn't wake the others.

"Good night Harry," Neville said, laying down and turning onto his side.

"Night Nev," Harry replied, before settling down to sleep as well. Many thoughts swirled through his head, but he finally managed to calm down enough to sleep. By focusing on the next step their bond had taken, mind communicating, he was sure there was a proper name but he couldn't think what it was, was he able to slip into a peaceful sleep.


	20. Reactions

When Harry woke up, he groaned, not looking forward to the day. He knew that most people would think he had entered and that he wanted to compete. He just hoped that his friends believed him. He sat up in bed and found Ron already awake and staring at him, the other three boys having already left the dorm.

"When did you get back?" Ron asked.

"Late last night," he replied.

"What happened in the chamber?" Ron asked, staring down at his hands.

"The adults all argued about how I could have entered and what it meant. I still have to compete, magical contract and all," he said.

"Did you enter?" Ron asked. Harry turned away from choosing clothes to glare at Ron. Ron held up his hands in a defensive way.

"I was just asked. I didn't want think you had but I had to ask," Ron said, defending himself.

"I was with you all day. I really didn't want to enter the tournament. I just wanted a quiet year," he sighed. Ron looked at him apologetically.

"I'm pretty sure Ginny managed to convince at least half the house that you didn't enter or even want to participate. As soon as the twins started planning a party and wanting to know how you did it, she exploded and started chewing them out. Couldn't stop them organising a party though," Ron explained as they both started getting dressed. They both entered the common room and everyone in the room burst into applause. Harry winced; he really hadn't wanted to deal with this. He stepped away from the staircase and raised his hand to quiet everyone.

"I thank you for the support and hope that you extend the same support to Cedric, the real Hogwarts Champion. I will do my best in the tasks and try my hardest not to get killed. Thank you," he said. Everyone laughed at his last comment, except for Hermione and Ginny who scowled as he casually mentioned getting killed in something that had killed others before.

"Now, I am heading down to breakfast," he announced. His friends followed him out of the portrait hole, as did majority of the people in the room. They entered the Great Hall and sat down, trying to ignore the stares of the people already in the hall. They talked quietly between themselves as they ate. As they finished the meal, Cedric came over to speak with him.

"Hey Harry. Just wanted to know that I managed to convince all of Hufflepuff that you didn't enter yourself. We're all behind you," Cedric said.

"Thanks Cedric. Gryffindor will be supporting you just as much as me. I made sure they knew that you are the real Hogwarts Champion," he replied, smiling at the older boy. Cedric nodded, before heading over to the Hufflepuff table. Hermione leaned forward from across the table.

"You haven't actually told us. What's the first task?" she asked. Harry groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Don't talk to me about the bloody first task," he complained. Ginny patted his arm reassuringly.

"The champions aren't being told what the task is until the day of the task," Ginny explained.

"What. How the hell is that going to work?" Ron asked.

"It is to test our daring and ability to cope with the unknown. We are only armed with our wands. Yay." He mock cheered before groaning again. Ginny patted his arm again while Hermione looked sympathetic.

They spent the rest of the day, trying not to think about the task. They visited Hagrid in the morning and then split up in the afternoon. Hermione dragged Ron off to the library to research the Triwizard Tournament and magical contracts. Harry and Ginny spent the afternoon down by the lake, talking about the newest development with their bond.

They tested the limits of the connection between their minds. They discussed how far apart the connection could stretch, as well as if the connection between their minds could develop anything else. They headed back to the castle as it got darker, holding hands as they walked back up to the school. They ran into Malfoy and a group of other Slytherins, all laughing over something that Malfoy had in a bag. As they got closer, the Slytherins all turned around to watch them.

"Got a girlfriend Potter? Cute," Pansy Parkinson sneered. Ginny gripped his hand tightly.

 **Don't rise Harry.** Harry squeezed her hand in reply, and they stopped in front of the group standing in the doorway.

"What do you Parkinson, Malfoy?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"New badges. Like them?" Malfoy asked, showing them the badges. The badges had bright red lettering spelling out _Support CEDRIC DIGGORY – the REAL Hogwarts Champion!_

"It's not all they do, look," Pansy said. She pressed her own badge and the glowing red message disappeared, changing into a glowing green message that stated _POTTER STINKS_.

"Wow, how creative. How long did that take you to come up with?" Ginny asked, her voice full of sarcasm.

"Worked on them all night," Malfoy proclaimed, seemingly proudly.

"And the best you could come up with is Potter Stinks? Very clever," Harry replied. Harry and Ginny then pushed through the group, moving into the Great Hall before they could figure out what he had meant.

The next week was full of people coming up to Harry, either to tell him they would be supporting him, or asking him how or why he entered the tournament. He was sick of all the attention by the end of the week. He was in Potions class, last period Friday, when even more attention came his way due to the Tournament. Colin Creevey entered the potions classroom and walked up to Snape's desk.

"I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs," Colin said.

"Mr Potter has another hour of potions to complete," Snape sneered.

"Sir, Mr Bagman wants him, something to do with the champions," Colin stuttered out.

"Very well. Potter take your things and get out," Snape snapped. Harry quickly packed up his stuff and followed Colin out of the room. They moved through the corridors in silence. Colin finally pointed him to the right room, and he headed through the door, finding the other three champions already waiting in the room along with a reporter and a photographer. He dumped his bag on a chair and moved to stand next to Cedric.

"Do you know why they want us here?" he asked the older boy. Cedric shrugged.

"Something about publicity and checking our wands, I think," Cedric replied. The reporter approached Harry, quill in hand.

"Mr Potter, would you mind if I had a word with while we wait for the others to arrive? Get a bit of a perspective of what it's like being the youngest champion?" the reporter asked.

"You are?" he asked.

"Rita Skeeter, special correspondent for the Daily Prophet," the reporter said. "So, would you follow me for a quick interview?"

"No thanks, I'm happy to stay here with the other champions," Harry replied, turning back to continue talking with Cedric.

"The public deserves to know how you feel, being drawn into a competition with people 3 years older than you, how you feel your parents would feel about you competing in the tournament."

"As you mentioned, Ms Skeeter, I am three years younger than the other champions, meaning I am still a minor. As such, you cannot publish anything about me without the consent of my guardian, which you don't have and will never get," Harry replied. Sirius had spent the last year reading the many law books that the ministry had so he could make sure that all of them could use the law to their advantage. And Harry had payed attention when Sirius had recounted some of his findings, especially when it came to his rights regarding the press, because as much as he hated it, he was famous.

Rita Skeeter backed off, just as Dumbledore and a man Harry recognised as Olivander entered the room, followed by Bagman. Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff followed them into the room.

"Ah, lovely, you're all here. Then we can get right into the Wand Weighing Ceremony," Bagman said, rubbing his hands together.

"Wand Weighing?" Cedric asked.

"Just to make sure your wands are in perfect working order. They are your most important tool for the tasks, after all," Bagman explained. "Mr Olivander will just check that everything is fine with them and then we will do some photos for the Prophet." Mr Olivander moved to the centre of the room.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you step forward first please?" Olivander asked. Fleur swept forward and handed her wand over. Olivander took the wand, twirling it in his hands.

"Yes, nine and a half inches ... inflexible ...... rosewood ... containing, dear me..." Olivander trailed off and Fleur picked up where he was going.

"A hair from the head of a Veela, from my Grandmother."

"Yes, I've never used Veela hair, however if it suits you," he said, before waving the wand and muttering "orchideous," causing flowers to bloom from the wand.

"It's in perfect working order." He handed Fleur back her wand before gesturing for Cedric to move forward. "Ah, one of mine. Twelve and a quarter inches ... Ash ... pleasantly springy ...... unicorn hair." He waved the wand, causing smoke rings to stream across the room. He handed it back before calling Krum forward. Krum handed over his wand, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Hornbeam and dragon heartstring ... rather thicker than one usually sees ...... quite rigid ... ten and a quarter inches. Avis." A large number of birds emerged from the wand and flew around the room. "That just leaves Mr Potter." Harry stepped forward, holding out his wand for Olivander to take.

"Holly and phoenix feathers ... eleven inches .... nice and supple ... aguamenti." Instead of shooting water out of the tip of the wand, his wand jumped out of Olivander's hand, hitting him on the head, and flying back to Harry's hand. Olivander seemed startled and Harry saw Fleur studying him intently.

"Well Mr Potter, it seems you have a connection with your wand that is incredibly rare. It has bonded to you completely and won't let anyone else use it. If you could perform a spell to demonstrate that it works?" Olivander asked. Harry nodded, quickly waving his wand and levitating a piece of paper on a side table.

"Photographs," Rita exclaimed, clapping her hands. It took a while for them to work out where everyone needed to be positioned for the best image. They were finally allowed to leave, and Harry headed straight to dinner, which was already in full swing.

He collapsed next to Ron and immediately started filling his plate.

"What did they want you for?" Ron asked.

"Weighing of the Wands to make sure our wands work and pictures for publicity," he said between bites.

"Anything interesting?" Hermione asked. 

"Fleur is part Veela, her wand core is Veela hair from her grandmother," he said.

"What about your wand. Anything wrong?" Ginny asked. **I felt your astonishment near the end,** Ginny added, answering Harry's unasked question.

"Apparently my wand has bonded fully with me, meaning no one else can use it. Olivander tried using aguamenti and my wand jumped out of his hand, whacked him on his head and then flew back to my hand," he explained. Hermione looked intrigued about that.

"How would that occur?" she asked. He shrugged.

"No clue. Apparently, it's incredibly rare," he said.

"Have you written to Sirius and Remus yet to tell them about being picked?" Ginny asked. Harry dropped his fork, looking up at Ginny with wide eyes.

"How have I forgotten to do that?" he gasped.

"It has been a big week," Ron said. "Just write to them after dinner." Harry nodded, knowing that he wouldn't hear the end of it if his godfather found out about him being in the tournament from the Prophet rather than from him.


	21. Newspaper

Sirius sat down at his seat at the dining table, his mug of coffee popping up in front of him. He picked up the mug, taking a sip to start waking up more.

Remus came in soon after, sitting down as his spot. His cup of tea popped up as he sat down, along with the daily copy of the Daily Prophet. Remus opened the paper and promptly spat out his sip of tea as he read the front page.

Sirius had just got up to open the window for Hedwig to deliver a letter and turned around, shocked at Remus' reaction. Hedwig flew onto his arm and he untied the letter as he moved back to the table, still needing his coffee.

"What's wrong Remy?" he asked.

"The article in the Prophet. Harry's a champion," Remus said, voice disbelieving.

"What? Why wouldn't he tell us?" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing the newspaper from his boyfriend and quickly reading the article. Remus grabbed the letter from Hedwig, that Sirius had dropped on the table, as Sirius read the article. He opened the letter slowly, wondering what Harry was writing to them about.

"He did tell us. His letter explaining everything that happened just arrived," Remus said, handing the letter over to Sirius after he finished reading it. Sirius looked down at the letter.

_Dear Moony and Padfoot,_

_I just realised that I hadn't written to you this week. Sorry about that; it's been hectic._

_So, I probably should tell you that at the end of last week the Triwizard Tournament started. On Halloween, three champions were chosen from the Goblet of Fire. Well, I say three, but really it was four. Somehow, my name came out of the Goblet after the three champions were chosen. So, that's great. It turns out that I have to compete, even though I didn't enter my name or want to enter. Due to the fact that my name came out, I am bound to compete, unless I want to lose my magic. So, yeah, the week has been hectic as I try to deal with just another reason to be in the centre of attention._

_The real Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory. I've convinced Gryffindor to support Cedric as much as me, and Cedric has done the same with Hufflepuff. He also managed to make everyone see that I didn't enter and that I just have bad luck. The first task is on November 24th and we don't get to find out what the task is until the day of. I'm not sure if you can come watch, but if you're allowed to, I would love you to be here._

_How's everything at home? Lots of love,_

_Harry._

"Huh, Harry just has really bad luck, doesn't he?" he asked as he finished reading the letter.

"Yeah, fate likes to play with him. Honestly, the Prophet brushes over the fact that Cedric was chosen at all. It makes it out like Harry is the Hogwarts Champion, period," Remus replied.

"I'm going to write to Dumbledore after we've finished breakfast," Sirius decided, going back to his coffee, which he desperately needed now. Too much drama and information for so early in the morning when he was barely awake.


	22. Dragons

It was the 20th of November when Hagrid pulled Harry aside near the end of a Care of Magical Creatures class.

"Meet me at my hut at midnight tonight. Wear that cloak of yours," Hagrid told him in a hushed tone, before speaking in a louder tone about how the Skrewts were doing. Harry nodded, wondering what Hagrid would want to show him.

That night, he donned his invisibility cloak and headed out of the portrait hole, careful to avoid detection. He quickly made his way through the corridors and out onto the grounds, heading straight to Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid was waiting for him outside and Harry showed his head briefly so that Hagrid would know he was there.

"Just waiting for someone, then you can follow me. Keep the cloak on." Harry covered his head again and waited next to Hagrid. Soon enough, Madame Maxime appeared, and Hagrid led both of them through the forest. Harry gasped quietly when he saw what Hagrid was showing them. There were men shouting and deafening, ear splitting roars. At first Harry thought that it was men jumping around bonfires. But then he looked closer and realised what they were. Dragons.

Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons, rearing on their back legs, roaring and snorting, causing jets of fire to shoot into the sky. There as a silvery blue one with long, pointed horns snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground. A smooth scaled, green one, writhing and stamping with all its might. A red one with an odd fringe of fine golden spikes around its face, shooting mushroom shaped fire clouds into the air. Finally, there was a gigantic black one, more lizard like than the others.

At least 30 wizards trying to keep the dragons in control, seven or eight to each dragon.

"Keep back there, Hagrid," yelled a wizard near the fence. Harry recognised the voice but couldn't place why. "They can shoot fire at a range of 20 feet. I've seen this Horntail do forty."

"It's no good. Stunning spells on three," another one of the wizards called. The stunning spell was shouted in unison and the dragons finally quieted, falling to the floor with thuds that made the trees shake. One of the dragon-tamers came closer to talk to Hagrid and Harry realised why he recognised the voice. It belonged to Charlie Weasley.

"What breeds do you have here Charlie?" Hagrid asked.

"This is a Hungarian Horntail," Charlie said, gesturing to the black one closest to them. "Then you have a Common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one, a Swedish Short Snout, the blue gray one and a Chinese Fireball, the red one."

"There's four, one for each Champion. What do they have to do?" Hagrid asked, still watching the dragons in awe.

"Just get past them, I think. They wanted nesting mothers for some reason, don't know why. I'll tell you now, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious things, back end as dangerous as the front," Charlie replied. He pointed to the Horntail's tail and Harry saw long, bronze coloured spikes lining the whole tail.

Harry waited a bit more, to see if there was anymore information, before gathering that this was all that Hagrid had wanted to tell him, so he turned around, heading back to the castle. He ran into Karkaroff on the way back to the castle, probably trying to find out what the first task was. He really wasn't looking forward to the first task, he hadn't wanted to enter for a reason.

He entered the common room and quickly headed up to his dorm, wanting to just go to bed and not think about the dragons. Hopefully they would be able to work out how he could survive an angry dragon.

The next morning, he waited for Hermione and Ginny in the common room with Ron to tell them about the dragons.

"So, what did Hagrid want?" Hermione asked when both girls had joined them.

"To show me what the first task is. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to die," he deadpanned.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, whacking him on the arm.

"It can't be that bad," Ginny said, but her voice betrayed her scepticism.

"I have to get past an angry, nesting mother dragon. Even Charlie thinks it's a stupid idea," he groaned. The others looked shocked and a little sick.

"Dragons," Hermione whispered.

"Nesting mothers," Ginny added.

"Nesting mothers are the most vicious dragons, from what Charlie says," Ron said.

"Come on, we're going to the library right after breakfast," Hermione decided. Harry didn't argue, knowing that that was a good idea. As they ate, a thought came to Harry as he looked over at the Hufflepuff table. Cedric would be the only champion who didn't know about the dragons. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff had seen the dragons and would no doubt tell their champions.

He stood up, moving over to the Hufflepuff table. He tapped Cedric on the shoulder and Cedric turned around to look at him.

"Hey, can I have a word with you in private?" he asked.

"Yeah sure." Cedric stood up and they headed out of the hall and into an abandoned classroom close by.

"The first task is dragons. They have one for each of us and we have to get past them," Harry said as soon as Cedric closed the door.

"Dragons. Are you sure?" Cedric asked, face pale.

"Yeah, I've seen them. Maxime and Karkaroff saw them as well, so the other champions will probably know by now too."

"Why are you telling me?" Cedric asked.

"Because you're the real Hogwarts Champion. And it's only fair that we all know now," Harry explained. Cedric smiled.

"Thanks mate." Harry nodded and they both headed back to the Great Hall. His friends were already waiting for him outside the Great Hall and immediately dragged him off to the library.

They spent the whole day researching for ways to get around the dragon. They didn't find anything useful, but Hermione was sure that they would find something the next day. As they made their way back to the Great Hall for dinner, Moody pulled Harry aside.

"A word Potter," he said. Harry followed him to his office and sat down in the offered chair.

"I saw what you did for Diggory earlier. Found out about the dragons then," Moody said. Harry nodded slowly, hoping that he wouldn't ask how; he didn't want Hagrid getting in trouble.

"Got anything planned for getting past your dragon then?" Harry mutely shook his head no. Was Moody trying to help him?

"I'll give you some advice then. Firstly, play to your strengths. What are your strengths Potter?"

"I don't know. Quidditch mainly," he replied.

"Exactly. I've heard you're a damn good flier. Now, the second piece of advice is to use what you have to get what you need." Moody allowed him a moment to process that before dismissing him. He walked back to the Great Hall, thinking about what Moody had said. How could he get his firebolt?

"What did Moody want Harry?" Ginny asked when he sat down.

"To give me some advice about the dragons." He then told them what Moody had said and they ate in silence, thinking about what Moody could have meant.

"The summoning charm," Hermione exclaimed.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Harry can use the summoning charm to summon his firebolt to him so he can fly around the dragon," Hermione explained.

"You know that I have had no luck with that," Harry replied glumly.

"Then we will get you good at it. We have all day tomorrow to work on it and Ron and Ginny can keep working on other ways to get past the dragon." Harry agreed with that plan, knowing that when Hermione had a plan it was better to go along with it.

The next day found Harry and Hermione in the Charms classroom, Harry practicing the summoning charm on the cushion left in the room. Ron and Ginny were in the library, reading through books they hadn't got through the previous day. Even though Ron would normally hate spending his whole weekend in the library, he had agreed to so he could help Harry. By the end of the day, Harry had managed to get the summoning charm down pat and could summon anything in the room.

"Well, we know how to get me to learn any spell I'm having trouble with. Threaten me with an angry dragon," Harry said dryly as they headed to the Great Hall where they would meet with the others.

"How did research go?" he asked as he sat beside Ginny.

"Found one thing of use. Apparently, dragons speak Parseltongue, as it is a langue of reptiles, not just snakes," Ginny replied.

"Yeah, all the other books mainly had stuff about caring for a dragon, for nutters like Hagrid who want to own one," Ron added. "Any luck with the summoning charm?"

"He's mastered it now," Hermione said happily, a smile on her face. At least someone had hope in him.

"So now you have two ways to get around the dragon. Flying or talking," Ron said. Harry groaned in reply.

"Still have to face a dragon," he grumbled.


	23. The First Task

Classes finished at lunchtime on the 24th, to give everyone time to make their way down to the dragon enclosure, not that anyone knew what they would find down there. McGonagall had approached Harry during lunch, telling him that the champions were expected to head down to the champions tent while the spectators finished lunch. She looked a little green as she wished him good luck, letting him enter the tent alone.

Cedric was pacing along the back wall. Fleur was seated on a wooden stool, looking less composed than usual, while Viktor looked even surlier than usual, which was probably his way of showing nerves. Harry gave Cedric a small smile when he entered, which Cedric returned, before continuing with his pacing. Harry went and sat in a corner. He focussed on his bond with Ginny, discreetly moving his hand to touch the magic connecting them that was over his heart.

The thrum of happiness calmed him slightly, allowing him to relax. He went a little into his mind, something he had been practicing since their mental bond had formed, over to the corner that was open and connected with Ginny's. He allowed his focus to fully go to their mind connection. This calmed him even more, reminding him of what he was doing this for. He could tell that Ginny was close, but not entirely sure where. He concentrated on Ginny, wanting to talk to her before the task.

 **Hey Gin. Are you in the stadium yet?** He asked. He tried to keep his mental voice steady but didn't quite manage to repress the slight shake.

 **Yeah, we just arrived in the stands. How are you doing?** Her mental voice was soft and full of concern, a stark difference from her usual fierceness and steadiness. He let out a small sigh.

**I've been better. Just trying to stay calm. The other champions seem stressed.**

**I believe you'll do fine. You're amazing and you have a plan.**

**Thanks Gin.** Harry focused on his emotions and his small smile, trying to send a smile to her. He was pretty sure it had worked when he felt happiness and surprise appear amongst her nerves. Bagman entered the tent and he stood up, still doing his best to focus on the bond and staying calm.

"Time to fill you in. In this bag I have miniature models of what you will be facing, as well as the order you will go in. Your task is to collect your golden egg," Bagman said, showing them the small purple bag that he was holding. The champions all showed their understanding and Bagman offered the bag to Fleur first.

"Ladies first." Fleur reached into the bag and withdrew a small, perfect model of a Welsh Green with the number two around its neck. Fleur didn't look surprised, simply determined. Viktor went next and pulled out a small Chinese Fireball with the number three around its neck. Cedric pulled out the model of the Swedish Short-Snout, the number one around its neck. Harry felt his calm slip away as he realised which dragon that left him with. Sure enough, he pulled out a miniature version of the Hungarian Horntail, a number four around its neck. Just his luck, of course he would get the most dangerous dragon. Bagman clapped his hands.

"There you have it. The dragon you will face and your order. Mr Diggory, when the first whistle blows you will walk through there and into the enclosure. Good luck." Bagman then turned and walked out of the tent and the champions all went back to what they were doing before he had entered. Harry once more put his hand over his heart, feeling the connection to try and calm down. He noticed Fleur watching him but didn't say anything.

 **Harry, are you ok?** Ginny sounded worried and he allowed a small smile to make its way onto his face at her concern.

**I'm fine Gin. We just found out our order and which dragon we'll be facing.**

**I felt your panic Harry. Which dragon did you pull?**

**The Horntail,** he replied with a small sigh. He felt Ginny's worry intensify and did his best to not focus on her emotions. It wouldn't do any good to be distracted while facing a dragon.

**You'll do fine Harry.**

**Thanks Gin. Focus on the bond a bit, it should help ease your worry.** He then did his best to close the connection between their minds. He knew it wouldn't fully close, but it would allow Ginny to know he didn't want to talk right now. She would still be able to contact him, but it was mainly to let her know he was concentrating on something else. He heard a whistle blow and Cedric walked out of the tent, looking green.

He ran over his plan in his mind, doing his best not to listen to Bagman's commentary. Hearing what was happening but not seeing it wouldn't help his nerves. Soon, a second whistle was blown, and Fleur left the tent. Krum left soon after when his whistle was blown, and Harry was left alone in the tent. He tucked the miniature dragon into his pocket and made sure his wand was secured in his wand holster. He stood by the exit, waiting for his whistle to be blown. He heard the whistle and steeled himself and walked into the dragon enclosure.

He immediately ducked behind a rock and blocked out the noise of the crowd. He flicked his wrist and his wand shot into his hand.

"Accio Firebolt," he called, before sheathing his wand on his forearm again. His firebolt zoomed into the arena and he mounted it, kicking into the air. He hovered in front of the horntail, out of range of her fire, but close enough that she would be able to hear him. He hovered in front of her eyes and began to talk in Parseltongue.

"Greetings fierce one. Would I be able to retrieve a false egg from your nest?"

"Why do you want my egg?" the dragon hissed. He shot out of the way of a jet of fire, rethinking how close he had drifted. He slowly moved back to his position.

"I have been tasked with retrieving a fake egg. It is the golden one. I will not touch any of your other eggs," he promised. The dragon snorted, forcing him to shoot upwards to avoid the flames from hitting him.

"Very well. But only the gold one. Touch the others and you will regret it." Harry inclined his head in thanks and flicked his wrist again. He pointed his wand at the nest of eggs.

"Accio golden egg," he said in English. The golden egg shot out of the nest and into Harry's arms, he caught the egg and put his wand back in the holster.

"Thank you fierce one. I am sorry for bothering you," he said to the dragon. The horntail didn't reply, instead curling her tail around her nest and curling up around the eggs protectively. Harry flew back to the ground, golden egg held tightly in his arms. He landed softly and looked up to the judges table to see all the judges, except Dumbledore, staring at him in shock. Probably because he could speak Parseltongue.

"And Mr Potter retrieves his egg in the quickest time yet. The scores for Mr Potter," Bagman announced after recovering from his shock. Madame Maxime shot up a figure eight, while Mr Crouch gave him a nine. Dumbledore also gave him a nine, while Bagman gave him a ten. Karkaroff gave him a five.

"That gives Mr Potter a total of 41 points and puts him in first place," Bagman announced. Harry grinned before Madame Pomphrey bustled over to him, ushering him into the first aid tent. He saw Cedric sitting on a bed, a purple substance covering a lot of his exposed skin. Krum was sitting on a stool, no obvious injuries, while Fleur was behind a curtain, the skirt she had been wearing tossed on the ground, quite badly burnt.

"How are you feeling Mr Potter?" Madame Pomphrey asked.

"Fine. I didn't get hit or anything," he replied, trying to stop her from getting him on a bed. He didn't succeed.He allowed her to bustle around him, checking for any injuries. Bagman entered the tent.

"Well done all of you. Now, you have a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February 24th. The golden eggs that you had to retrieve, if you look at them you will notice hinges. The clue about the next task is hidden inside the egg. You will need to solve the clue to work out what the second task is so you can prepare for it. All clear? Then you can leave as soon as you're cleared."

Madame Pomphrey allowed Harry to leave the tent, along with Viktor, while Cedric and Fleur remained behind. He met his friends at the edge of the enclosure and was embraced as soon as he reached them. Ron and Hermione hugged him first, hugging him so tight he couldn't fully breathe. When they released him, Ginny engulfed him. He hugged her tight, having felt her worry and fear as he faced the dragon. He allowed the connection between them to fully open again and sent her a mental smile.

"I'm fine guys. Didn't even get hit with fire," he reassured them as Ginny moved slightly, hugging him from the side as they started walking back to the castle.

"That was epic mate," Ron exclaimed.

"And terrifying. You did it, Harry. None of the others even thought of simply summoning the egg," Hermione said, grinning. They then described what the other champions had done and how well their tactics worked.

"Come on, I'm pretty sure George mentioned a party and majority of Gryffindor are already heading back to the castle. Fred left as soon as the scores were announced, saying something about butterbeer," Ron said. Ginny didn't say anything, simply leaving her arm wrapped tightly around Harry's waist.

They entered the common room and were bombarded with noise. Everyone was cheering and clapping. There was a banner with the Gryffindor logo and the words _Harry for the Win_ hanging from the ceiling. There was food on various tables. Harry was touched by the support from his house.

The party lasted the whole afternoon and into the evening, none of them leaving for dinner, having enough food for them not to need dinner. Someone eventually noticed the items that Harry had placed on an armchair, his broom and the golden egg.

"When did you get a firebolt Harry?" Angelina asked.

"Birthday present. It was going to be a Christmas gift last year, but didn't arrive in time," he replied.

"Wish we had Quidditch this year. You'd be unstoppable," Katie sighed.

"What's with the egg?" Fred asked, coming over to join the group gathered around the items.

"If you didn't notice Fred, the egg is the whole reason I faced a dragon," Harry replied.

"I mean, why is there hinges," Fred pointed out.

"The clue for the next task is hidden inside," he explained. George appeared just as he said that.

"Go on, open it then," George insisted. Harry grabbed the egg, holding it in his arms. He stood on the chair and everyone turned their attention to him.

"Who wants me to open it?" he asked. Everyone cheered and so he complied. He grabbed the hinges and pulled the egg open. As soon as it was open, a loud screeching started. Everyone covered their ears. He quickly snapped the egg shut and the screeching stopped.

"What was that?" Seamus asked. There was many suggestions about what it could have been, but Harry stayed quiet.

"I'm going to go put the egg and my broom up in my dorm and we can continue with the party. Without quidditch to celebrate, we should take every opportunity we can," he declared. Everyone cheered and he stepped off the chair. The party began again as he made his way up to his dorm, thoughts swirling about what the egg was trying to tell him.


	24. End of Term

Harry didn't make any progress with the golden egg in the few weeks following the first task. He had already signed up to go home for the Christmas break and was hoping that the Potter library would have books that would help him solve the egg. His Christmas spirit was dampened slightly when Professor McGonagall held them behind after Transfiguration class.

"Now, I have something that I would like to tell you all. The Yule Ball is approaching, a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests and let our hair down. Now, the ball is open only to those fourth year and above, although you may invite a younger student if you wish. Dress robes must be worn, and the ball will start at eight o'clock in the evening, in the Great Hall on Christmas Day, finishing at Midnight. Potter, a word please."

Everyone else packed up their bags and headed out of the classroom while he headed to the front of the room.

"Potter, the champions and their partners are required to attend the ball, as it is tradition for the champions to open the ball," McGonagall said.

"Professor, I've already signed up to go home and have plans with my guardians," he protested.

"It is tradition Potter. We will set something up. I believe many students will want to return for the ball. I will inform you after speaking to the headmaster." Harry nodded and McGonagall dismissed him.As he walked back to the common room, he was running through ways to ask Ginny to the ball. He wanted to make it perfect. He reached the common room, a plan in mind.

"What did Professor McGonagall want?" asked Hermione.

"To let me know that it's compulsory for me to go because the champions have to open the ball," he replied, flopping into a chair.

"Aren't you going home though?" Ron asked.

"McGonagall said they'd work something else because I have to be there, along with my partner."

"How are you planning on asking Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"I have a plan for this weekend."

"Well come on, we have Charms in 15."

The rest of the week had Harry slowly becoming scared of all females in resident at Hogwarts. They had all turned predator like, giggling and eyeing the boys as they passed. He had already had many girls ask him to the ball and he politely declined them all. He was surprised by how many people thought he would go with them, considering him and Ginny hadn't been hiding their relationship.

That weekend, Harry took Ginny down to the lake, a picnic set up for them. He pulled out a cake for dessert and turned to face Ginny, presenting the cake to her. She gasped as she read the words written in icing on the top of the cake.

"Be my sweet date for Yule?" Ginny read. She looked up to meet his eyes, a large smile on her face.

"Yes. I would love to Harry," she said, leaning forward and kissing him on his cheek. He cut the cake and presented a slice to her. They enjoyed the cake and spent the rest of the afternoon cuddled together down by the lake. As they watched the sun set over the lake, Ginny pressed herself closer to Harry's side.

 **Did you even have to ask me?** Ginny asked quietly.

**I wanted it to be perfect and you deserved to be asked, rather than just it be presumed.**

**It was amazing. Thank you, Harry.** They sat there for a few more moments, before Harry spoke again.

**Gin?**

**Yes Harry?** she asked, turning slightly to face him. The movement was enough for Harry to tell he had caught her attention, but not enough for anyone watching them to notice.

**I think, I think I love you.**

**I think I love you too,** Ginny replied. Harry kissed her, trying to tell her everything he couldn't put into words.

The sky started turning dark and Harry stood, pulling Ginny to her feet as well. Harry left the picnic where it was, the elves who set it up for him having said they would pack it up as well.

The next day, McGonagall called a house meeting in the common room.

"I have more news about the Yule Ball. For anyone who has already signed up to go home but wishes to attend the ball, we have organised portkeys to bring you to Hogsmeade at one o'clock on Christmas and will return you to your house at noon on Boxing day. If you wish to collect one of these portkeys, come see me in my office before the end of term." After making this announcement, she exited the common room, leaving everyone to start talking about the ball.

"Are you guys planning on going home?" Harry asked.

"Our whole family was planning on staying here," Ron replied.

"I told my parents that I'd be staying at Hogwarts this year," Hermione added. Harry nodded.

"Makes sense. I'll go collect one of those portkeys on my own then."

"Wait until your next transfiguration class. You still need to work on the egg," Ginny told him. He reluctantly agreed, heading up to his dorm to collect the egg.


	25. Gringotts

When Harry arrived back at Potter Manor, he was immediately engulfed in hugs by his godfather and pseudo uncle. He hugged them back, while Fergo popped his trunk to his room.

"How are you cub?" Remus asked.

"As good as can be expected, considering I'm in a tournament I didn't want to be in and have recently faced a dragon," he replied.

"Excuse me, did you just say that you faced a dragon?" Sirius spluttered.

"Yeah. Did you not know what the first task was?"

"No, we did not," Remus said, taking hold of Sirius' robes, preventing him from storming off to send another howler to Dumbledore.

"We tried to come watch, but only school students and judges are allowed at all but the third task."

"Huh. Well, yeah, I faced a dragon. I have the most points at the moment and now have a pretty golden egg to use to work out the next clue," he said with a small shrug.

"Ok, we're not talking about the tournament right now. Have a date for the Yule ball?" Sirius asked with a wink.

"I'm taking my girlfriend, obviously," he replied, rolling his eyes. He was well aware of the fact that he hadn't told them he had a girlfriend, but this was as good a time as ever. He had agreed with Ginny that they would tell their parents or guardians at the earliest time that they were face to face.

"Girlfriend?" Sirius choked.

"Yep. Did I forget to mention that I have a girlfriend?"

"Just a small possibility cub," Remus replied with a small laugh.

"Must have just been a minor detail I forgot to mention in my letters. I've been dating Ginny since before Halloween. Don't remember the exact date," he explained, going with the story they had agreed upon. It wasn't lying, exactly, they had gotten together before Halloween; it just happened to be many months before Halloween. He moved into the living room, collapsing onto the couch.

"Have you planned what you're going to wear to the ball?" Remus asked.

"I'm planning on wearing my emerald green dress robes. Ginny has a dress that compliments well with that pair." They spent the rest of that day talking about goings on at Hogwarts.

The next day, Harry received a letter from Gringotts.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We request your presence at Gringotts to discuss your accounts and other matters. Please come as soon as possible for you._

_Jangrak, Potter and Black Account Manager._

"Can we go to Gringotts today?" he asked. Sirius looked up from his cup of coffee.

"Any reason pup?"

"Jangrak wants to speak with me about some things."

"Jangrak?" Remus asked.

"The Potter and Black Account Manager," he replied.

"Sure, pup. We didn't have any plans for today," Sirius said.

"I still need to buy a few gifts for Christmas," Remus agreed. So, it was decided.

They all got ready for the day and apparated to Diagon Alley. Sirius accompanied Harry to Gringotts while Remus headed off to finish his shopping. He approached a free teller goblin, handing over the letter he had received.

"Is Jangrak free?" he asked.

"He is. Griphook will take you to his office. Lord Black, you can wait for Mr Potter out here," the goblin replied.

"Thank you," he said to the goblin before turning to Sirius.

"I'll see you soon Padfoot." A goblin approached him from behind the teller desks.

"This way Mr Potter," Griphook said. Harry followed him through a few corridors, finally reaching a door with Jangrak's name written on the door.

"Here you are Mr Potter."

"Thank you Griphook," he replied. Griphook seemed a little surprised, before he bowed to Harry and walked away. He knocked on the door and entered. He found Jangrak sitting behind the desk.

"Ah, Harry, come in," Jangrak said. Harry closed the door behind him and sat in the indicated chair opposite Jangrak.

"What did you want to discuss with me Jangrak?" he asked.

"There are a few things that I wanted to discuss with you. I believe that there have been circumstances that have led you to becoming recognised as an adult. The main thing that would have led to this is a certain level of your soul bond being reached," Jangrak began.

"You know about my soul bond?" he asked, slightly shocked.

"Yes. Goblins are amongst the creatures that can see such magical connections. Would I be correct in saying that you have developed the mind connection with your soul bonded?" Harry nodded in confirmation. "This means that, according to the Old Laws and Gringotts, you are of age, no matter your actual age. Due to this, you are able to access all your vaults and claim your Lordship. We also recognise your soul bonded as your life partner, despite your ages and the fact that you aren't married. Your soul bond is a deeper life connection than marriage and we recognise it as such. This leads to everything that we needed to discuss today.

"Firstly, would you like to claim your Lordship? You don't have to wear your Lordship ring if you do claim it, but you need to claim it to have full access to all your vaults," Jangrak explained.

"How would I claim my Lordship?" he asked.

"First, you need to take an lordship test to see if the Potter Lordship is the only Lordship available to you. Once we find out which Lordships are available, I will have someone retrieve the rings."

"I would like to claim them then," Harry decided. Jangrak pulled out a piece of parchment and a small knife.

"Three drops of blood onto this parchment then." Harry slit his finger, allowing three drops of his blood to fall onto the parchment. The blood started moving across the parchment, forming blood red words. When the letters stopped forming, he picked up the parchment and read what it said.

_Harry James Potter_

_Mother: Lily Rose Potter nee Evans (Deceased)_

_Father: James Fleamont Potter (Deceased)_

_Godfather: Sirius Orion Black_

_Godmother: N/A_

_Lordships – Potter (Last alive)_

_Gryffindor (Last alive)_

_Peverell (Unclaimed)_

_Other –_

_Soul bond: Ginny Weasley_

_Love sacrifice: James and Lily Potter_

_Horcrux: Tom Riddle/Voldemort_

He looked up at Jangrak.

"What's a Horcrux?" he asked. Jangrak seemed startled.

"Why do you ask?" Harry handed over the parchment and Jangrak read it.

"A Horcrux is a piece of someone's soul, attached to something, or in this case, someone else so to keep that person alive. In this case, the horcrux attached to you is preventing Lord Voldemort from fully dying," Jangrak explained. Harry shuddered.

\"Is there a way to remove that?" he asked.

"We have a potion that can remove all things that you weren't born with. It will leave your soul bond but remove the horcrux and the love sacrifice. I can have Griphook collect it at the same time as he collects the Potter, Gryffindor and Peverell Lordship rings. If you want to claim the Gryffindor and Peverell Lordships, that is?"

"Yes, I would like to claim all three Lordships. And the potion sounds like a good idea, thank you Jangrak." Jangrak pressed a small button and not long after Griphook entered the office.

"Please collect the Potter, Gryffindor and Peverell Lordship rings, as well as a removal potion," Jangrak requested. Griphook nodded and left.

"Now, your vaults. At the moment you have only had access to your trust vault. But now that you are claiming your lordships, you have full access to the Potter vault, as well as the Gryffindor and Peverell vaults," Jangrak said, turning his attention back to him. Jangrak pulled out a large file, placing it on the desk between them.

"These are the files about all the transactions that have occurred with the Potter vault. I will do my best to find the files for the Gryffindor and Peverell vaults, but I know they haven't been used in at least a century and have more funds than the Potter vault." Jangrak pulled out the top piece of parchment and sliding it over to Harry.

"This is the current value of assets that the Potters have." Harry looked down at the parchment.

_Potter Assets Liquid -_

_G = 1,453,264 S = 38,260 K = 739_

_Property –_

_Potter Manor, Wales (G112,511 S2 K19) - Godrics Hallow, England (G13,613 S4 K9)[in ruins] - Potter House, England (G47,647 S1 K12) - Apartment 205, New York, America ($300,000)[currently rented out] - Apartment 603, Los Angelis, America (405,000)[currently rented out] - Potter Chateau, Paris (G250,742 S12 K4) - Castello Potter, Rome (G273,641 S3 K17) - Potter Holiday House, Greece (G36,783 S15 K8)_

_Shares –_

_Daily Prophet (3%) Sleekeazys Products (10%) Sony (5%) Coca-Cola (7%)_

_Other –_

_Jewellery (monetary value unknown)_

_Books (284 volumes)_

"You have full access to these assets, as does your soul bonded. To validify this, you simply need to sign this sheet." Harry signed the sheet, glad to give Ginny access to the money that he knew he would never get close to spending all of. He passed the sheet back just as Griphook returned. Griphook placed a box on the desk, along with a dark green potion. Jangrak opened the box, passing the rings to Harry.

"To claim your Lordships, you need to put each ring on your finger and simply say 'I {insert name} claim the Lordships of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Potter, the Noble and Most Ancient Imperial house of Gryffindor and the Noble and Most Ancient Presidential house of Peverell. So mote be it.' The rings will then resize to fit your fingers. They carry a disillusionment charm if you want to wear them and have them look like plain rings. If you don't wish to wear them, you can then remove them and store them in this box in the Potter vault. If you don't wish to wear them, it will not interfere with the fact that you are the Lord," Jangrak explained.

Harry nodded, placing the Potter ring on his right ring finger, the Gryffindor on his right middle finger and the Peverell ring on his right index finger.

"I, Harry James Potter, claim the Lordships of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Potter, the Noble and Most Ancient Imperial house of Gryffindor and the Noble and Most Ancient Presidential house of Peverell. So mote be it," he said.

The rings refit themselves and he slipped them off, placing them back in the box.

"What does having a Lordship entail?"

"Well, as no one knows you are claiming your Lordship, you aren't obligated to do anything. However, if you do want to make it known, you can claim you seats on the Wizengamot. While still in school you can have a proxy sit in them for you. Also, your soul-bonded is able to claim the accompanying Ladyships when she next comes in. I can also remove the trace from your wand. As we recognise you as of age, you can do magic outside school and as a Lord of three houses, you need to be able to protect yourself."

Harry nodded his assent and Jangrak clicked his fingers. A warm, golden glow surrounded him for a moment before disappearing.

"Ok, anything else Jangrak?"

"Now, Harry, as you have claimed your Lordships, you need to have a working will."

"Ok, can I make that now? And would I be able to make a will leaving everything to my soul bonded without telling everyone that I have a soul bond. We want to keep it private and secret."

"Yes, that is possible, but only because of the soul bond. You just need to tell me who you want to leave what, and any messaged you would like left in the will."

"Two thousand galleons to Fred and George Weasley, for them to put towards their future career. They have talent and many ideas and should invest in it.

"Two thousand galleons to each Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Thank you for being great friends and I am forever grateful for your support.

"To Sirius Black, I leave half of Potter Manor, along with one thousand galleons, in case he needs them on a rainy day, along with my love and thanks for being a great godfather.

"To Remus Lupin, I leave the other half of Potter Manor, as well as three thousand galleons. I also give him my love and thanks for being such a great teacher, uncle and guardian.

"To Molly and Arthur Weasley, I leave one thousand five hundred galleons, with thanks for taking me in when you didn't need to and loving me like your own.

"Finally, to Ginny Weasley, I leave a letter and a gift in the Potter vault, along with my love and the hope that she can find happiness after me," he said.

Jangrak copied everything he said down, and he signed it at the bottom. He then told Jangrak everything he wanted in the second will that only the Goblins at Gringotts and Ginny would see, which Jangrak told him would be placed in his vault.

"Finally, the removal potion. It only takes a minute to get through your system and remove the excess things from your body." Harry nodded, taking the potion that was still on the desk. He drank it in one go, grimacing slightly at the taste. About a minute later, his body felt freer and his connection to Ginny was more defined, as well as a faint, pink glow that has always surrounded his arms, torso, and legs had disappeared - it had probably covered his whole body but wasn't sure because magical traces couldn't be seen in a mirror; he guessed that must have been the love sacrifice.

"Thank you for all your help today Jangrak," Harry said, bowing to the goblin in front of him.

"It was a pleasure aiding you today Harry. We will destroy the Horcrux later today," Jangrak replied, bowing in return.

Harry returned to the foyer of Gringotts and found Sirius waiting for him.

"That took a while pup," Sirius commented, standing to meet him.

"Had a few things to discuss. Everything's sorted now though," he replied as they exited Gringotts and went to find Remus.


	26. Christmas

The rest of the holidays leading up to Christmas were pretty uneventful. He spent a lot of time in the Potter Library, trying to work out why the Golden Egg screamed. He hadn't made any headway as of yet. On Christmas morning, he was woken up in the same way he was woken on his birthday, by Sirius jumping on him as Padfoot.

"Get off Padfoot," he groaned, rolling over and making Padfoot fall off him.

"I'm up, I'm up." Padfoot barked, before turning back into Sirius.

"Come on, presents before breakfast. We have to get everything done before midday," Sirius said.

"I'll be down soon, Padfoot. It's only six o'clock," he groaned, sitting up in bed. He rubbed his eyes before putting his glasses on, just in time to see Sirius smirk and leave his room. He had a quick shower and got dressed in casual clothes. He sent Ginny a quick mental smile and felt her happiness peak a little in response.

 **Happy Christmas Love,** he said.

**Happy Christmas Harry.**

**I can't wait for tonight.**

**Neither can I.**

**You'll look amazing.**

**I have no doubt that you'll look very handsome as well.** **Enjoy the morning.**

**Have fun with your family,** Harry said before leaving his room and heading down to the living room.

 **You too Harry.** He entered the living room, a large smile on his face. Remus and Sirius were sharing the couch next to the fireplace and Christmas tree, each sipping their usual morning drink. There was a small pile of presents in front of each of them, a third, larger, pile in front of an armchair for him.

"Happy Christmas Moony," he said, sitting down on the armchair.

"Happy Christmas cub," Remus replied.

"What about me?" Sirius whined.

"You negated your Happy Christmas when you jumped on me to wake me up," Harry replied, his voice teasing. Sirius huffed, crossing his arms.

"Let's start with the presents, shall we?" Remus suggested. Harry nodded, eagerly taking the top present. They alternated between each of them, all eventually finishing their piles.

Harry loved every gift he got. He got the traditional sweater and homemade pies from Mrs Weasley, as well as a box of sweets from Hagrid which included all of his favourites. Hermione had given him a book called _Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland_ , while Ron had given him a large bag of Dungbombs.

His favourites though, were the joint present from Sirius and Remus and the gift from Ginny. Sirius and Remus had gotten him a penknife that had many different attachments that were able to unlock any lock and undo any knot. Ginny had given him more charms for the bracelet she had given him for his birthday, a lightning bolt, a flame, and a heart interlinked with an infinity symbol.

He smiled at the symbolism as he attached the charms to his bracelet. The lightning bolt for him, a flame for her because of her hair and short temper, and the heart and infinity sign to show their love forever. They moved into the dining room for breakfast, talking about plans for the rest of the day. Or, at least the first half of the day.

When their breakfast was popped onto the table, Mimi, Atta and Fergo popped in too. Each house elf presented one gift to each of them. Harry received a throw rug, pair of knitted socks and a scarf. In return, Mimi, Atta and Fergo each received a new pillow case uniform.

They settled into the living room again after breakfast, playing games and simply enjoying each other's company. At noon, they had a small lunch, before Harry headed upstairs to get the things he would need for the ball and the next 24 hours. He ended up with a small bag with his dress robes, a gift he wanted to personally give to Ginny, pyjamas and clothes for the next day. His toiletries and things he would need before bed and in the morning had remained at Hogwarts for the break.

He took his bag down to the entrance hall, portkey in hand.

"Enjoy the ball pup," Sirius said, hugging him.

"See you tomorrow cub," Remus said, hugging him as well.

"See you tomorrow. Have a good night," he said. He pulled back and glanced at his watch. It was one more minute until the portkey activated. He waved and was hooked behind the navel, being jerked away from the Potter manor and to Hogsmeade. He landed in the Hogsmeade square along with all the other students that were portkeying back for the ball. The carriages were waiting for them.

They all arrived back to the castle a few minutes later and Harry was soon back in the common room. He found all the Weasleys and Hermione playing Exploding Snap, while many other Gryffindors played other games around the common room. He moved up behind Ginny and hugged her from behind. She didn't jump or reacted at all, but he hadn't expected her to. After all, they could both tell where the other was.

"Hey Harry," she said, placing one of her cards on the pile. "Happy Christmas." He moved from behind her to sitting next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he slipped into the seat.

"Happy Christmas guys," he said. A few of them looked up from the game, all replying with a "Happy Christmas." They finished the game and began talking about dates and presents. He was glad to know that the Weasleys were all delighted with their gifts; he had given them the brooms they rode during the summer, knowing they wouldn't be used otherwise and that all the Weasleys loved flying.

Hermione still refused to tell anyone who she was going with and Ron was adamant that she just didn't have a date. They had just started arguing about it when Fred suggested they have a snowball fight. Harry found himself teamed with Ginny, being bombarded with snow from all sides. They fought back, throwing snowballs at everyone, laughing. The afternoon was fun and managed to take Harry's mind off everything else happening that year. He was able to simply enjoy being with his friends and girlfriend, his soul bonded, without everything weighing on his shoulders.

At 5 o'clock, Hermione and Ginny excused themselves from the fun, heading inside to get ready.

"Why do you need three hours?" Ron demanded as they headed towards the castle.

"Ron, they're girls. Don't question it," Harry said, throwing a snowball at the back of his head. Ron turned, retaliating with his own snowball. He managed to take cover while Ron turned on George so that he could contact Ginny quickly.

**Hey Gin, I forgot to tell you not to wear any jewelry.**

**I was only planning for earrings anyway. Why the request?**

**I have a second gift for you. Have fun getting ready.** Ginny sent him a smile and he turned his attention back to the snowball fight, where Fred and George had pinned Ron in the snow. He laughed at Ron's misfortune, before standing up and pelting the twins with snow. They turned to him, laughing, and threw their own snow as well.

At 7 o'clock, it was getting harder to aim, due to the darkening sky, so they headed inside to get ready for the ball. They headed up to their dorms, getting changed into their dress robes.

"Lavender is a miracle worker," Ron sighed as he studied his robes in the mirror. His robes had changed from a horrible maroon, covered in lace and frills, to a respectable dark red, no lace or frills in sight.

"They look like a new set of robes mate," he said, moving behind Ron to look at himself in the mirror. The dark emerald of his robes was accented with the burnt orange stitching on the seams. He was hoping that Ginny liked it.

"Thanks. You look good mate," Ron replied. Harry checked his watch.

"It's twenty to eight, we should head down," he suggested. Ron nodded and they headed down to the common room. There were many boys waiting for their date in the common room, while there weren't many girls. Ron had left to find Padma. He held his gift for Ginny close, hoping that she would like it. He felt her coming closer and turned to look at the stairs as many boys gasped.

He smiled as he watched Ginny walk down the stairs. She seemed to be gliding down the stairs. Her hair was in a braided bun, leaving two twirled pieces of hair framing her face. Her dress was a beautiful green, light orange detailing seemed to shimmer as she moved. She made her way over to him and he couldn't shake the smile from his face.

"You look beautiful Gin," he said, kissing her cheek.

"You look quite handsome yourself," Ginny replied.

"I have a gift for you." He presented her with the wrapped gift.

"You didn't have to," she said.

"But I wanted to", he replied. She opened the gift and gasped as she saw what was inside. He had found a necklace for her with a G and a H connected on a simple silver chain. He had also found a bracelet. It was made of infinity symbols, small emeralds connecting each figure eight.

"They're beautiful," she whispered. He picked up the necklace and she turned around, allowing him to clasp it behind her neck. She slipped the bracelet on and turned back to look at Harry.

"Thank you," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and offered his arm.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"We shall. Hermione said she'd meet us there." Ginny took the offered arm and together they headed down to the Great Hall.


	27. The Yule Ball

Ginny and Harry entered the entrance hall, finding it packed with other couples, waiting for the doors to open. They walked towards the door, where McGonagall was calling for the champions, greeting their friends as they passed.

They found Neville with a blonde girl, who Ginny said was Luna Lovegood.

"I'm glad Neville asked her. She says he's a good friend to her." Lavender was with Dean, while Parvati was with Seamus. They found Ron standing with Padma, Parvati's twin, although neither of them seemed impressed with their date.

They reached McGonagall and found two of the other three champions there with their dates. Fleur was standing with Rodger Davies, who seemed stunned that he was Fleur's date. Cedric was standing with Cho Chang. Viktor soon approached and Harry was slightly shocked to see Hermione with him.

"Your Viktor's date?" he asked her when she reached them.

"Yeah. He asked me in the library the day we found out about the ball," Hermione replied. "We agreed to only come as friends though." Harry nodded and Hermione turned to talk with Viktor. Harry turned to watch the other champions, not even realising that he was still holding hands with Ginny.

Fleur was watching him and Ginny closely. He turned away from her, slightly confused about why she was observing them so intently. McGonagall flicked her wrist, opening the door. The couples filling up the entrance hall streamed forward, entering the Great Hall. The champion couples waited outside, and McGonagall organised them into two lines, champions on one side, dates on the other.

Fleur and Rodger were first in line, Cedric and Cho behind them. Viktor and Hermione were in front of Harry and Ginny, who were at the back of the line. They walked in, everyone else cheering as they made their way to the head table. They sat down and soon everyone in the hall was seated around small tables. Dumbledore got them all started, ordering his meal by telling his plate what he wanted. Everyone soon followed his lead, ordering their meal.

Harry and Ginny talked as they ate, also talking with Hermione who was next to them. Percy was on their other side, apparently replacing Mr Crouch. He didn't seem happy that Ginny had come with Harry, though.

"So, are you two dating?" Percy asked. Harry and Ginny exchanged glances before Ginny nodded.

"We are."

"How long?"

"Since before Halloween."

"Do Mum and Dad know?"

"No. And you aren't going to tell them. I'm going to tell them when I see them face to face." That's when Percy turned his attention to Harry.

"You better take care of my sister," he said.

"Of course. I've already been threatened by Fred and George, but I think that Ginny is the one I should be scared of if I hurt her." Percy nodded, seemingly happy with that response.

Soon, the plates disappeared. The champions all stood up, heading out to the dance floor. Harry would say that he couldn't dance, but the dance that he had with Ginny was so easy. They twirled together across the floor. Soon, other couples joined them on the dance floor and there was so many people dancing. Still, Harry was lost in the dance with Ginny.

They eventually moved off the dance floor for a drink, sitting down at a table together. Harry went off to get drinks for them and when he returned, he found Ginny happily talking to Fleur.

"Thanks Harry," Ginny said, taking the drink as he sat down next to her.

"We were just talking about your relationship. You're really good together," Fleur said.

"Thank you," Harry replied.

"Your bond is really quite strong. I was impressed with how you used it to calm yourself before the first task," she commented. Both Ginny and Harry froze slightly, before looking straight at Fleur.

"Excuse me?" Ginny asked.

"Your soul bond. It is incredibly strong, especially for your age."

"How did you know about it?" Harry asked.

"I'm part Veela. We can see these types of things. When did it activate?"

"At the end of last school year, Ginny said.

"Forgive me for asking as it may seem intrusive, but which abilities have you received?"

"We've got emotions and the ability to tell where the other one roughly is. Those appeared during the summer holidays. We've been able to contact each other in our minds since Halloween, when I was chosen," Harry answered.

"Your bond is extremely strong then. I am glad that I was allowed to be a part of your lives, a soul bond is so rare, one this strong, this young and soon is almost unthinkable. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, this bond is a very private thing and I am grateful to have been privy to it." Ginny and Harry smiled at each other, hands clasping tight.

"Excuse us Fleur. We're going to dance again," Ginny said, pulling Harry up. Fleur smiled and nodded.

They weaved their way through the crowd until they reached the dance floor. They began twirling again and ended up dancing the night away. As the night came to a close at midnight, the remaining couples trickled out of the hall. Ginny and Harry made their way out of the Great Hall, slowly heading back up to the Gryffindor dorms. Cedric, however, stopped them in the entrance hall.

"Hey, Harry, could I have a word?" he asked. Harry turned to Ginny and she nodded.

"Sure," he replied. Ginny moved over to the staircase, out of hearing range.

"Have you figured out your egg yet?" Cedric asked.

"No. I haven't worked out anything other than it screams."

"Try taking a bath with it. Just, mull it over in the hot water," Cedric suggested. Harry nodded, confused but not wanting to ask.

"Ok. I'll see you next term. Night," he said. He moved away from Cedric and up the stairs towards Ginny.

**What did he want?**

**Gave me a clue about the egg. He suggested taking a bath with it.**

**Well, you have it at the manor with you and a private bathroom. I doubt Sirius or Remus will know if you take a bath with the egg.**

**You have a point. I'll try it tomorrow.** They reached the portrait hole and entered, saying goodnight before heading up to their separate dormitories.


	28. The Golden Egg

The next day, Harry woke up late, along with the rest of the students. He lazed around with his friends in the common room, trying to ignore the tension between Ron and Hermione. When it was almost noon, he said goodbye to his friends and headed out to Hogsmeade to go back to Potter Manor.

He landed in the entrance of Potter Manor after the familiar jerk behind the navel. He headed straight to the dining room for lunch. He found Sirius and Remus sitting at the table, already eating.

"Hey Moony, Padfoot," he said, slipping into his chair.

"Hey pup. How was the ball?" Sirius asked.

"It was better than I expected. Ginny and I had a great time. She loved my gift too," he replied, grabbing a sandwich.

"Did your friends have fun?" Remus asked. Harry swallowed before replying.

"Hermione did. She went with Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang Champion. Ron didn't though, I think he and Hermione had a fight after the ball as well, there was a lot of tension between them this morning. How was your night?" Remus blushed a bit at the question, ducking his head, and Sirius coughed.

"It was fun," Sirius replied and Harry decided that he was happy not knowing the details. Harry finished his sandwich while Sirius and Remus discussed many different things.

"I'm going to try working on the egg again," he said, standing up.

"Ok. Call if you need any help cub."

"Will do," he replied. He headed up to his room and drew a bath. Feeling slightly stupid, he slipped into the bath with the golden egg. Not having any other idea of what to do, he placed the egg in the water and opened it slightly. Instead of a horrible screaming, a soft melody began to emerge from the egg, and he could make our words within the melody.

Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching ponder this; 

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took, 

But past an hour, the prospect's black, 

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.

He closed the egg and placed it beside the bath, trying to work out what it could mean. Not having any ideas come to him while in the bath, he got out and dried himself. He got dressed into the same clothes from before the bath, grabbed the egg and headed to the library.

Remus looked up from his seat when Harry entered the library. Harry changed direction, heading towards his pseudo uncle instead of the log book.

"Hey Moony, do you know any creatures that can only talk underwater? Or any ways to breath underwater for an hour?" he asked.

"Why do you ask?" Remus replied.

"Because I have to breathe underwater for an hour to find something that a creature that can only sing underwater took," Harry replied.

"Well, I can think of a few creatures. Do you know what happens if they speak above ground?"

"I can show you," Harry offered. He opened the egg and Remus winced. Harry quickly closed it.

"That's probably Mermish, I'm pretty sure at least, the language of Merpeople. So, it's probably Merpeople that took whatever you have to find. I think that there's a colony of merpeople in the lake at Hogwarts. There are a few ways to breathe underwater, we can address the spells instead of duelling," Remus offered.

"Sounds good. I think I'm going to go find ways to stay warm in a lake. Because apparently whoever made this stupid tournament thinks it would be good idea to spend an hour in a freezing lake, in February. Because we had enough heat with the dragons," Harry deadpanned, causing Remus to laugh.

He moved to the shelf of school books and pulled out every charm book. He settled down in one of the armchairs and started reading through every charm book, searching for warming charms.

During the rest of the holidays, Harry was taught the bubblehead charm instead of duelling. The bubblehead charm was agreed upon as the easiest charm to breathe underwater. By the end of the holiday though, Harry still hadn't gotten the hang of the charm. Even though the stakes were still as high as learning the summoning charm to face a dragon, he just couldn't get the sixth-year spell.

"Are there any other ways? I just don't think I'll get it in time," Harry exclaimed on the last day of the holidays.

"Not any charm or spell that I can think of. Your friends and dormmates might know other ways. There may be plants or other ways that I don't know of," Remus admits.

"On the bright side, I've got warming charms down pat. I won't freeze to death in the lake," Harry says.

"That's definitely something. Any clue what they might take?" Sirius asked.

"Nope. Something I'll sorely miss. I don't have any items that I couldn't replace, other than my invisibility cloak or photos of my parents. And I'm going to have them under lock and key during February."


	29. Asking Around

"Harry, how are you going with your egg?" Hermione asked while they were doing their homework.

"I mean, I've figured out why the egg screams and what the task is. Just haven't figured out what I have to find or how to do it," Harry said offhandedly. "What did you say was the key part about the orchideous charm?"

"You figured the egg out? How?" Hermione eagerly asked.

"One second Hermione. Seriously, I just don't understand where I was going wrong with the orchideous charm," Harry protested. This essay was due the next day and he hadn't finished it yet. McGonagall took no prisoners over late homework.

"Harry, forget about your homework for a second. How did you work out the egg. When did you work it out?" Ron asked, shoving his own Transfiguration essay away from him.

"I figured it out over break. But I'm not kidding, I need help with this. It's due tomorrow and McGonagall won't care that I was working on the egg."

"You have to clearly imagine the bouquet of flowers before casting the spell. What did the egg say?" Hermione said. Harry wrote down what she had said before looking up.

"It was a riddle in Mermish. I had to put the egg underwater to hear the words. Now let me finish this, I just have to write the conclusion." Hermione and Ron sat silently, and clearly impatiently, while he finished his essay. He rolled the parchment up, putting it in his bag before turning to his impatient friends.

"Ok, you can start asking now. And one question at a time," he said.

"What made you think to put it under the water?" Ron asked.

"Cedric suggested taking a bath with it and that was the only thing that made sense."

"What did it say?" Hermione asked. Harry wracked his brains, trying to remember the exact wording of the riddle.

"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot speak above the ground. And while you're searching ponder this, we've taken what you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took. Past an hour the prospects black, too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

"What does it mean?" Ron asked.

"It means that whoever created this tournament is sadistic." His friends only gave him blank looks for his deadpanned response and he realised he needed to explain more.

"From what I can work out, they decided that we've had enough heat from the dragons and that it would be a good idea to make us spend an hour searching for something in the Black Lake. In the middle of February. I just haven't worked out what they'll take or how to breathe underwater for an hour. I tried learning the bubble-head charm, but I can't get it. At all."

"Have you learnt warming charms?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. It was the first thing I did after learning I would be in a lake in February."

"Have you thought to ask Neville if there are any plants that let you breathe underwater?" Ginny asked from behind him. She moved around the chair, sitting on his lap.

"No, I hadn't even thought of that," he replied, wrapping his arms around the girl in his lap.

"That's a good idea. You should ask him tonight," Hermione suggested. Harry shrugged. He'd ask if he got a chance.

"What do you reckon they'll take?" Ron asked.

"It said something you'll sorely miss. I have no clue what I have that couldn't be replaced, other than my dad's cloak," Harry said, shrugging. Ginny suddenly tensed in his arms.

"What's wrong Gin?" he asked.

"What's one thing that can't be replaced?" she whispered, so quietly that Harry only just heard it. He felt the fear coming from her and hugged her tight, trying to reassure her. He didn't understand what she meant, but he did know that she had possibly figured it out.

"Are you okay Ginny?" Hermione asked, noticing that she was still tense in his arms. Ginny didn't reply. Harry rubbed her back in a calming gesture, trying to calm her down from her shock. She eventually relaxed back into him but didn't say what had made her tense in the first place.

"I'm going to bed," she said, climbing off Harry's lap. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before hurrying up to her dorm.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Hermione asked, staring at the stairs that Ginny had disappeared up.

"I think she worked out what they're going to take, but she didn't say what it was," Harry replied.

"What did she whisper?" Ron asked.

"I'm pretty sure she said, 'what's one thing that can't be replaced?' But it was really quiet, I barely heard her."

"What is one thing that can't be replaced?" Hermione said. Harry shrugged.

"No clue." Soon after that, the three of them called it a night, heading up to their dorms. Neville was already up there, sitting in his bed, reading.

"Hey Nev, what are you reading?" Harry asked as he pulled out his pyjamas.

"Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties. Professor Moody gave it to me after our first class. Thought I'd like it because Professor Sprout mentioned that I was good at Herbology," Neville replied, looking up from his book with a smile. Harry was glad that the professors had told him that, he sometimes needed the extra help with his self esteem, especially due to Snape.

"Have you found any interesting plants in there?" Harry asked, closing his bed curtains to get changed.

"Yeah. There's a few that I really found interesting. My favourite though, is Gillyweed."

"What's that do?"

"It can be used in lots of potions. But, if you eat it, it will give you gills and webbed hands and webbed feet, allowing you to survive underwater for roughly an hour," Neville explained. Harry noticed the gleam in his eye, after pulling the curtains back on his bed, a gleam that always appeared when he was talking about plants.

"Is Gillyweed easy to get?"

"It's not hard to get, but it's really expensive at most apothecaries. Professor Snape probably has some, but it's too expensive to be on a student list. Why?"

"I have to spend an hour in the Black Lake looking for something for the second task. I was wondering if Gillyweed would be an option. Thanks," Harry explained.

"You could probably owl order some, but it costs about 30 galleons for enough for one hour," Neville suggested. Harry nodded, considering that idea. He'd write to Sirius to see if he could get some.

"Night Neville, Ron," Harry said, climbing into bed. Neville muttered a reply, turning back to his book.

"Night Harry. Night Neville," Ron replied, also climbing into his bed. With a plan in mind, Harry slipped into an easy sleep.


	30. The Second Task

The night before the second task, Harry jerked awake. He didn't realise why at first, until he heard Ginny. She had been trying to contact him and had woken him.

**Hey Harry, I just wanted to tell you that I'll see you later and not to worry about me.**

**What are you talking about?** Harry asked, confused and still half asleep.

 **I trust you. I'll see you when you finish the task.** After that, the connection between him and Ginny seemed to fade. Soon he could barely feel Ginny anymore.

He knew she was still at Hogwarts, but their bond was muted, as if something was blocking it. It felt like it was when the bond had first been created, weak. He thought back to what she said. She'd see him after the task. She trusted him. That's when it clicked. Ginny was what he would sorely miss. He had to rescue Ginny from the lake. She must have realised they would all panic when she didn't show up for breakfast. At least now he would know where she was. Hopefully Dumbledore would make sure she was safe. He allowed himself to drift back to sleep, knowing he had to be fully rested so that he could save Ginny.

Harry got ready for the day, his swimwear underneath his robes, the Gillyweed that Sirius had sent him safely in his pocket, wand secured in the holster on his arm. He had a spare handful in a protected pocket of his swimwear, in case he took more than an hour. He headed down to breakfast with Ron, guessing that Hermione would already be there. When he reached the hall, however, he noticed that she wasn't at the Gryffindor table.

"Where's Hermione and Ginny. They're normally down here already," Ron commented, sitting down at their normal place at the table. Harry shrugged.

"Overslept maybe? They'll be fine," Harry replied, shrugging. He was beginning to think that Hermione was under the lake with Ginny, considering she went to the ball with Viktor. He couldn't say that though, considering Ron would want to know how he knew Ginny was under the lake. They finished breakfast and Harry was almost certain his assumption was right, because Hermione hadn't shown up.

"I guess they'll just meet us down by the lake. It's just after nine already," Ron said. They stood up, making their way out of the Great Hall. The task didn't start until nine-thirty, but Ron wanted to get a good seat and Harry wanted to make sure he wasn't late.

They reached the lake and found people already milling around, the other champions there as well. Harry walked over to the other Champions. Cedric looked slightly worried, while Fleur looked outraged. Viktor simply looked confused.

"Who's your victim?" Viktor asked as he reached them.

"Ginny, my girlfriend. What about you?" he replied.

"Cho," Cedric said.

"They took my little sister," Fleur replied, silently fuming. "She is only eight."

"I don't know. I think maybe Herm-own-ninny, but I am not entirely sure," Viktor said. That explained why he looked so confused.

"What do you have planned? I'm planning on bubble-head," Cedric said.

"Bubble-head," Fleur agreed.

"Partial transfiguration. Shark head," Viktor said.

"Gillyweed. I haven't learnt the others yet," Harry admitted.

"Gillyweed is smart," Cedric said. Harry nodded his thanks. They didn't get any further in their conversation however, as the judges had arrived, and it was almost time for the task to start. The champions all stripped down to their swim wear, casting warming spells on themselves as Bagman addressed the crowd, explaining the task. Bagman waved his wand, a loud bang starting the task.

Harry stuffed the Gillyweed into his mouth, choking it down as the others cast their spells. He cast an impervious charm on his glasses before diving into the lake behind the other champions. Gills broke out on his neck, webs forming between his fingers. His feet became fin-like, and he began to easily move through the water. He focused on Ginny and their connection, purely trying to work out where she was. Even with their bond weaker than it had been for ages, he could still vaguely sense where she was.

He followed the bond like he had at the Quidditch World Cup, heading deeper into the lake, vaguely towards the centre. He managed to get past the Grindylows without a problem and soon reached the Merpeople village. As he passed through the village, the Merpeople started singing.

"An hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took. Your times half gone, so tarry not, lest what you seek stays here to rot." He reached the centre of the village and found four people tied to a large pillar. They were all secured tightly to the pillar, looking eerily dead. They seemed to be in an enchanted sleep, heads lolling on their shoulders and bubbles occasionally coming out of their mouths.

Harry swam towards Ginny, who was tied between Hermione and Cho. Another girl was tied next to Cho and seemed like an exact replica of Fleur, obviously her sister. His wand in hand, he started trying to cut through the ropes that held Ginny to the pillar. The diffindo spell wasn't working, simply producing bubbles and hot water. He holstered his wand again and swam to the bottom of the lake, grabbing a sharp looking rock. He began sawing at the ropes just as Cedric turned up. Cedric pulled a knife out of his pocket, making Harry wish he had brought the knife Sirius and Remus had given him for Christmas. Cedric's knife got through the ropes much quicker than his rock did, and he swam away with Cho.

Harry finished with the ropes around Ginny and pulled her up, passing Viktor on the way out of the village. He wanted to stay and make sure the other victims would be alright, but he was more focused on Ginny and getting their bond back.

He swam up to the surface, pulling Ginny behind him. He finally reached the surface and shoved Ginny above the surface. He still had gills, so had to stay under the water to breathe. Above him, Ginny startled, waking up from her enchanted sleep.

 **Welcome back Love** , he said, still carrying her towards the edge of the lake.

 **I knew I could trust you,** Ginny replied.

**Are you ok?**

**Yeah, Dumbledore put us all to sleep and told us it would remain and keep us safe until we were back above water. It was extremely weird though.**

**I'm glad you trusted me. And thanks for letting me know this morning. I would have stressed a lot when I realised that you weren't there, and our bond was weaker.** Ginny laughed quietly.

They reached the shore soon after that. Madame Pomphrey was already there, bustling Ginny into blankets and giving her potions and other things to warm her up. Ginny gave him a quizzical look and he smiled, mouth still under the water.

 **I can't come out until the hour is up,** he said in answer to her unasked question. She nodded slightly in response. Hermione and Viktor emerged next. Hermione was bustled into blankets and force-fed potions, while Viktor undid his half transfiguration. He was then removed from the water and faced the same thing that Ginny and Hermione did. Fleur appeared with her sister just before the hour was up and they were quickly made warm.

Harry felt his gills start to disappear and watched the webbing between his fingers disappear. Able to breathe out of the water again, Harry made his way out of the lake. Madame Pomphrey immediately covered him in a heated blanket, forcing a Pepper-up potion down his throat, before presenting him with a hot chocolate. He moved over to sit with the other Champions and their victims, while the judges discussed.

"Well done to all our champions, who all managed to retrieve their victims within the hour time limit. The points given are thus. Cedric Diggory, for use of a bubble-head charm and returning in 40 minutes, 50 points. Harry Potter, for use of Gillyweed and returning in 49 minutes, 46 points. Viktor Krum, for use of partial self-transfiguration and returning in 51 minutes, 44 points. Finally, Fleur Delacour, for use of a bubble-head charm and returning in 58 minutes, 40 points. This leaves the points standing with Mr Potter in first place, one point ahead of Mr Diggory. Mr Krum is in third place with Miss Delacour in fourth," Bagman announced.

The spectators all began making their way back to the castle. Madame Pomphrey, however, wouldn't let the Champions or their victims move until she was certain they were all out of risk of hyperthermia.

"You were smart, bringing a knife with you Cedric. Wish I had thought of that," Harry said, sipping his hot chocolate.

"I always have one with me. Just luck that it was needed," Cedric replied with a shrug.

"What took you so long Fleur? You were right behind me until the outskirts of the mervillage," Viktor commented.

"I ran into the Grindylows. I almost wasn't able to save Gabrielle," Fleur replied, hugging her sister.

"Alright, you eight are all good to go," Madame Pomphrey said. "Try to stay warm though."

The group all headed up to the castle, discussing things that had nothing to do with the tournament. Harry, Ginny and Hermione headed straight up to the tower, all classes for the day cancelled.

"Why do you reckon I was taken for Viktor?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he took you to the Yule Ball. Fleur was the only one who's date wasn't down there, and that was because her sister was here," Harry replied.

"We only went as friends though. Viktor doesn't even like girls, or anyone. He's aroace!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Whoever designed this tournament probably didn't know that. Probably thought you two were dating," Ginny said. They reached the portrait hole and entered. They found the whole house waiting for them in the common room and a party ensured, just like it did after the first task.


	31. The Final Hurdle

Exactly one month before the final task, found the much needed information being given. One night after dinner, the four champions made their way down to the quidditch pitch, having been told that that was where their instructions would be given. Harry and Cedric stopped at the edge of the Quidditch pitch, staring at it in horror.

"What have they done to it?" Cedric exclaimed. Harry was thinking the same thing. The quidditch pitch was covered in hedges, all about waist height.

"I take it that you've found what the third task will be. Any guesses of what we're making?" Bagman asked, moving towards them from the hedges.

"Maze," Viktor grunted.

"Correct Mr Krum. Next month, when the task takes place, Hagrid should have gotten the hedges to be twenty-foot high. The Triwizard Cup will be placed at the centre of the maze. The first to touch it will be declared the winner," Bagman explained.

"We simply have to get through a maze?" Fleur asked.

"The maze will be full of obstacles. Hagrid will be providing creatures, there will be spells to break, all sorts of obstacles. The champion with the most points will be first to enter the maze, second most points will enter second, as so forth. This means you will all have a chance to win once in the maze." He seemed to notice Harry and Cedric's faces and laughed.

"Don't worry, the Quidditch Pitch will be returned to normal after the task." They discussed the task for a few more minutes, ironing out the smaller details. Eventually, Bagman let them head back to the castle to warm up.

The next month was full of learning as many spells as possible, trying to prepare for the maze. He had decided to take his invisibility cloak, to make it easier to get around any creature that Hagrid provided. He was almost certain that a Blast-Ended Skrewt would be in the maze, and that was an encounter he was eager to avoid. Hermione had researched many different offensive and defensive spells and made a list of spells that he might need in the maze.

So far, he had learnt the point-me spell, Stupefy, Bombarda, Impediment Jinx, Reductor Curse and a shield charm. He had come across a few of those spells in the duelling lessons with Sirius and Remus but hadn't actually learnt how to use them.

The week before the end of the tournament, Harry was adamant that his friends study for the end year exam, rather than help him. Because, even though he preferred quidditch over school work, he still thought his friends should be prepared for their exams. The exams that would determine if they passed the whole year and could come back the next year. He spent the time while they were revising, looking up any spell that he hadn't learnt yet, or helping them revise.

"Harry, are you sure you don't want help practicing?" Hermione asked, looking up from her Charms notes.

"I'm fine. Honestly, I didn't even want to compete in the first place, and the exams are more important."

"But the maze Harry," Ron said.

"I know. You want to help me survive. But I've made it this far. I'll be fine."

"Let us help you practice some of the spells again," Hermione insisted.

"If you insist. But I still think you should be studying." Harry sighed and stood up, leading them to the spare classroom they had been using for practice.

"Think of this as revision for Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione offered, getting out the cushions to practice the stunning spell.

The day of the task, Harry was extremely nervous, but also relieved. By the end of the night the tournament would be over, and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Breakfast was an overall noisy affair that day, with everyone approaching their favourite champions during the meal, wishing them luck. Harry and Ron stood to leave for History of Magic, Hermione having already left. Harry was stopped by McGonagall before he could leave the hall, however.

"Potter, the champions are congregating in the small chamber off the hall," McGonagall said.

"But the task isn't until tonight Professor," he protested.

"I am well aware of that Potter. However, the family of the champions have been invited to watch and they are here for you to greet." Harry suddenly remembered how annoyed Sirius was that he would only be able to watch the third task.

"Ok then Professor. I'll be right over." He turned back to Ron, who was still standing by the door.

"You better go, don't want to be late for Binns. I'll see you at lunch." Ron nodded and hurried out of the hall, obviously only just realising how little time he had before his History exam. He headed over to the small chamber off to the side of the hall, the same chamber that he had gone into after his name had come out of the goblet. He walked in and found more people than he had expected.

"Hey pup," Sirius said, hugging him as soon as he entered the room.

"Hey Padfoot. Can't breathe," he gasped. Sirius relaxed his tight grip on him, moving back so Harry could greet the others.

"Hey Moony," he greeted, hugging the man.

"Hey cub, it's good to see you." Harry then moved onto the other two people in the room.

"Hi, Mrs Weasley, Bill. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"We wanted to come watch. You're practically family," Mrs Weasley replied, hugging him.

"Charlie said that you were wicked against the dragon," Bill commented, patting him on the shoulder.

"Care to show us around pup?" Sirius asked.

"Pretty sure it hasn't changed since you went here, but sure. Come on, the halls will be empty, exams are in progress," he replied.

He led the group out of the chamber and through the halls of Hogwarts. Due to the size of the castle, it took most of the morning to complete the tour, especially because he stopped to point out his favourite spots to hangout, or to point out shortcuts and secret passageways. They ended the tour at the Gryffindor Common Room, simply lounging in front of the fire.

"It's good to see the Fat Lady is still here. She was the here in my day. Gave Arthur and I a quite the telling off when we returned to the common room at four o'clock in the morning," Mrs Weasley commented idly.

"What were you and Dad doing out of the common room at 4 o'clock in the morning?" Bill asked incredulously.

"We fancied a night time stroll."

The bell soon rang for lunch and the group headed back to the Great Hall. As they walked, Harry realised what this would mean. Ginny would be face to face with Mrs Weasley, meaning she would find out about their relationship.

They reached the Great Hall and Harry headed straight over to his usual spot, finding Ron and Hermione already sitting there. He sat down opposite Hermione, Sirius and Remus next to him, while Mrs Weasley and Bill sat next to Ron.

"Mum, Bill, what are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"We came to watch Harry," Mrs Weasley said simply, helping herself to some food. "How was your exam?"

"It went fine. I forgot a few of the goblin rebels, so I made some up. It's fine though Mum, it's only History," Ron replied. Ginny, Fred and George joined them when they arrived in the hall. Ginny sat next to Harry and they linked hands under the table. Fred and George sat on Ginny's other side.

"Ginny, how are you going?" Sirius asked. Ginny blushed slightly and Harry kicked Sirius for being so upfront.

 **Now could be a good time to mention the relationship. Only your Mum and Bill don't know** , he commented idly. Ginny sighed before replying to Sirius.

"I'm doing good, thanks Sirius. And my boyfriend has been great," she replied. Mrs Weasleys head shot up at that comment.

"Boyfriend Ginny?" she asked. Ginny nodded, unclasping her hand and bringing it to rest on the table.

"I was holding that Gin," Harry protested, entwining their hands again on top of the table.

"Harry and I have been dating since before Halloween," Ginny explained, seeing the question in Bill's eyes. After lunch was finished, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all headed off to their last exam of the day while Harry, Sirius, Remus, Bill and Mrs Weasley headed out to the grounds.

"Harry, I know you are a good guy, but I have to tell you something," Bill began after they had all sat down near the lake.

"If you're going to give me the whole 'don't hurt my sister' speech, you don't have to. I've already had it twice. Plus, I'm pretty sure Ginny would hurt me more than any of you could if I hurt her," he interrupted. Bill deflated somewhat.

"Still, you hurt her, I hurt you," Bill finished. Harry shrugged.

"I wouldn't dream of hurting her." They spent the afternoon discussing many things but staying away from the tournament.


	32. The Third Task

The whole school, along with the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, headed down to the Quidditch Pitch after dinner. Harry's friends and family all sat together in the stands, while Harry headed to the entrance of the maze, along with Cedric, Fleur and Viktor, to where Bagman was already waiting.

"Greetings everyone and thank you for coming to watch the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. The points will dictate which order the champions enter the maze, Mr Potter first, then Mr Diggory, Mr Krum and finally Miss Delacour. The task is to be the first person to touch the Triwizard Cup, which is situated in the centre of the maze. The cup is a portkey, designed to transport the first person to touch it right back here. If the champion is in trouble, they can send up red sparks and someone will come get them, however, they will be forfeiting the task," Bagman announced, voice amplified so the whole crowd could hear him. He returned his voice to its normal volume, before turning to the champions.

"On my whistle then, Harry," he said. Harry nodded and as soon as the whistle sounded, he ran into the maze. He continued running for a few minutes until he heard a second whistle, indicating Cedric had just entered the maze. He kept moving quickly, hearing the third and fourth whistles ring through the air. All the champions were in the maze. As soon as he heard the last whistle, he slowed and brought his wand to his hand.

"Point me, Triwizard Cup," he whispered, wand flat on his hand. His wand spun around until it stilled, pointing to his left. He only had the choice between straight and right, so he headed straight. At every fork, he used the point-me spell to keep heading in the right direction.

As he got further into the maze, he was concerned by how little amount of opposition he had encountered. And that was to say, none. He turned another corner, before coming face to face with Ginny. He stopped, confused. That's when the Ginny in front of him spoke.

"Why would you think I love you. I never loved you. You're just a burden, not even able to save anyone." That's when she started bleeding. She kept talking, telling him that he was a failure, that she would never love him, while blood ran out of her mouth, other wounds opening all over her body. She collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely, eyes glazing over.

"You failed me," she gasped, before going still. Harry had finally worked out what he was facing. A boggart. He pointed his wand at Ginny's dead body and uttered the counter-curse.

"Ridikulus." He overpowered the spell slightly, causing Ginny's body to disappear in a burst of smoke rather than become something funny. He wouldn't be able to make her death funny no matter how hard he tried. He moved on quickly, trying not to let what he had just seen remain in his mind.

 **Are you ok?** Ginny asked.

 **I'm fine. Boggart. All good now,** he replied. He focused in front of him again, noticing a golden shimmer in the air. He stopped, trying to work out what to do. This was the direction to the centre of the maze, but he had no clue what the spell did. A scream rang through the maze and he moved forward, not caring what the spell did. \

The world turned upside down, his feet stuck to what had become the sky. He had no idea what to do, nothing they had covered in their research mentioned what to do in a situation like this. A second scream occurred, and, not thinking about might happen, he pulled at his feet, lifting one off the ground sky. Thankfully, he didn't plummet down into the sky. Instead, the world flipped again, and everything righted itself.

He ran in the direction of the scream, not finding anything except the remains of red sparks. That meant one champion was out. He continued through the maze, not meeting anymore resistance. Until he came upon one of the Skrewts. He tried to back away from the creature, which was enormous, but was unsuccessful. The Skrewt began moving towards him and he pulled his invisibility cloak from his pocket. Using his invisibility, he was able to sneak around the Skrewt, casting a few spells to try to slow the creature down. None of the spells worked, all of them rebounding off the thick armour-like skin, causing him to dodge around them as they flew back at him.

He continued on, removing the cloak and continuing through the maze. He heard Cedric behind the hedge on his left, on the path over. He sounded confused and scared.

"What are you doing? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Then he heard Viktor's voice.

"Crucio!" Screams filled the air and Harry knew he had to help. He pointed his wand at the hedge that separated his path from the one Cedric and Viktor were one. He cast the reductor curse at the hedge, create a hole that he was able to push through. He found Cedric writhing on the ground, obviously in pain, screaming. Viktor was standing over him, wand pointing at him.

"Stupefy," he shouted. A red light shot from his wand, hitting Viktor in the back and causing him to fall over. He moved towards Cedric, helping him up.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Cedric slowly nodded.

"Madame Pomphrey will be able to fix me up as well, but for now I'll be fine. I didn't think he would resort to Unforgivables," Cedric replied shakily. Harry shot red sparks up into the air over Viktor's body. The two boys headed forward together until they reached a fork in the path.

"Well, see you at the end," Cedric said, before heading off on the left path. Harry nodded, moving down the right path. The rest of his path was unobstructed until he reached a Sphinx.

"You are very near the end, the fastest path is past me," the Sphinx said in a deep, hoarse voice. "To pass you must answer my riddle. Get it right, I let you pass. Get it wrong, I attack. Stay silent, I let you walk away." Harry though for a moment, before deciding what he would do. If he didn't know the answer, he would simply walk away and find a different path.

"May I hear the riddle?" he asked. The Sphinx nodded, settling down from her pacing.

"First think of a person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and speaks naught but lies. Next tell me what's the last thing to mend, the middle of middle and the end of end. And finally give me a sound quite often heard, when trying to think of a hard to find word. String them together and answer me this, what is one animal you would never want to kiss." He thought hard, trying to work out what it could be. He spent a few minutes thinking out loud, before he finally landed on the answer.

"A spider," he said. The Sphinx nodded, moving out of the way and allowing him to continue down the path. He turned left at the end of the path, the Triwizard Cup at the end of the new path. The cup was surrounded by traces of magic, but also contained its own magic, waiting to be activated, probably the portkey magic.

Cedric was in front of him and he noticed a shape coming up behind Cedric, in front of him, a shape he recognised as an Acromantula.

"Cedric, watch out behind you," he called. Cedric turned, just in time to see the spider right over him. Harry summoned his wand to his hand, pointing it at the spider towering over Cedric.

"Stupefy," he yelled. The spell hit the spider but didn't do anything. Together, he and Cedric shot multiple spells at the acromantula, to no affect. The spider turned and grabbed him, lifting him off the ground in its pincers. He pointed his wand at the spider and shot off the disarming spell, hoping it would work. The spell caused the spider to drop him and he landed heavily on his right leg, pain erupting up it. He pushed the pain aside, this action easy from all the times he had done it while he lived with his Aunt and Uncle. He stood on his injured leg, pointing his wand at an open spot on the spider.

"Stupefy," he yelled, just as Cedric said the same thing. The two spells were enough to overpower the acromantula and it keeled over sideways. The two boys panted on either side of the fallen spider.

"Harry, are you ok? Did it fall on you?" Cedric yelled.

"No, I'm fine," Harry replied. He looked down at his leg, which was covered in blood, and a sticky substance from the spider's pincers covering it. It was shaking badly, and he doubted that anyone without such a high pain tolerance as he had would be able to even stand on it.

"Take it then," he said. Cedric was standing just a few feet away from the cup. Cedric turned to face the cup, before turning to face Harry again.

"You deserve it. That's twice you've saved my neck in here. You should win," Cedric said, moving away from the cup.

"That's not how it works. The one to reach the cup first wins. That's you," Harry insisted.

"No."

"Stop being noble. Just take it. Then we can get out of here." Cedric kept moving away from the cup, moving towards him.

"You told me about the dragons."

"You told me about the egg, we're square. Plus, I had help with the dragons."

"I had help with the egg."

"We're still square. Just take the cup."

"No." They stared at each other, neither willing to budge.

"Both of us," Harry said.

"What?"

"We take the cup together. It's still a Hogwarts Victory. We tie for it." Cedric looked at him in disbelief.

"You sure?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah. We've helped each other out, we're both here."

"You're on. Come here," Cedric said. He helped Harry steady himself, allowing Harry to lean slightly on him. Together, they moved towards the cup.

"On three," Harry suggested. Cedric nodded and they both reached out to grasp the cup.

"One, two, three." They grasped a handle each and a jerk behind the navel swept them off their feet as the portkey activated.


	33. The Graveyard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The speech that Voldemort uses is straight from the original book and is in no way mine.

Harry and Cedric landed, immediately realising they weren't where the portkey was meant to take them, in what looked to be a graveyard. They exchanged nods and simultaneously drew their wands.

They moved forward slightly, trying to work out what was going on around them and where exactly they were. A crack behind them made them both whip around, trying to see who had caused the noise. That's when they heard the high, cold voice.

"Kill the spare." Harry heard the spell be cast and moved as quickly as he could. He pushed Cedric out of the way of the green spell, knowing he wouldn't let Cedric die tonight. Not if he could help it.

"I'm sorry. It's me they want. Tell Ginny I love her," he whispered, before casting a body bind on Cedric. He pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket, glad that he had it on him in case it was needed in the maze and draped it over Cedric's petrified body. He then turned and moved closer to the voice; wand brandished in front of him.

"What do you want?" he demanded into the open air. No reply came, except for a red light that came from the same person as the earlier green one. The spell hit him, and he blacked out.

Harry woke up to find himself tied tightly to a gravestone. A man was moving around in front of him, heaving a large cauldron over a fire. The cauldron was full, and water sloshed everywhere as the man jostled the cauldron into position.

"Hurry up," the high voice commanded. The cauldron was soon over the fire and the man started what seemed to be a ritual.

"Bone of the father ... unknowingly given ... you will revive your son." A trickle of powder burst from the dirt of the grave Harry was tied to. The dust was directed into the cauldron. As soon as it hit the water, the water started to bubble, changing to an off white.

"Flesh of the servant ... willingly given ... you will ... revive your ... master." The man raised a knife over his hand and Harry knew what he was about to do just moments before it happened. The knife came down fast, slicing the man's right hand clean off. It hit the water with a loud splash and pink sparks began dancing across the surface of the potion.

"Blood of the ... enemy ... forcibly taken ... you will resurrect ... your foe." The man moved over to him now, and Harry recognised the man as Wormtail. Wormtail raised a knife to Harry's arm and slashed it. Blood trickled down his arm and Wormtail collected it in a small bottle. He then turned moved back to the potion, emptying the blood into the cauldron.

The potion turned blood red, with blue sparks shooting out of the potion. Wormtail moved out of Harry's line of vision, returning soon after, carrying a large bundle. A figure was in the middle of the bundle of robes, and almost looked like a small child. Wormtail dumped the figure into the cauldron. For a short amount of time, Harry hoped that the figure would drown, but it was not to be. The figure emerged from the cauldron, uncurling and standing up in the cauldron.

"Robe me," the figure commanded, voice still high and cold. Wormtail hurried forward, presenting the figure with the bundle of robes. The figure stepped out of the cauldron, fully robed, and Harry finally got a good look at the figure.

The figure was pale skinned with slitted red eyes. His face was snakelike with two slits instead of a nose. He was completely bald, not even having eyebrows. Harry recognised the face. It was the same face he had seen on the back of Quirrell's head in first year. It was the face of Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort held out his hand and Wormtail reverently placed a wand in the figure's hand. Wormtail then slumped against a gravestone, cradling his bleeding stump. Voldemort began examining himself, taking in everything about his body. He then turned to look at the whimpering form of Wormtail.

"Please master ... you promised," Wormtail whimpered.

"Hold out your arm." Wormtail presented the bleeding stump and Voldemort laughed.

"The other arm, Wormtail." Voldemort yanked down the sleeve on Wormtail's left arm, pressing his wand to the dark mark branded in his skin, causing the black mark to burn red.

"How many will be brave enough to come. How many will be foolish enough to stay away," Voldemort murmured, before he turned to Harry, a cruel smile forming on his face. Soon, people started appearing around the graveyard, hooded and masked. They moved slowly into a circle, leaving gaps for people who weren't there. One by one, they knelt down, moving forward to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robe, before moving back and standing in the circle.

"Welcome Death Eaters. It has been 13 years, and yet you still answer the call like it was yesterday. We are still united under the dark mark then. Or are we. I smell guilt," Voldemort declared. A shiver ran around the circle.

"I see you all whole and healthy, powers intact, your appearances so prompt. And I ask myself, why did these people, who swore loyalty to me, never try to find me. And I answer myself, they must have believed I was broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back amongst my enemies, pleading innocent, bewitchment and ignorance," Voldemort whispered. No one moved, no one spoke.

"And I must ask myself, how could they believe I was gone. They, who knew the lengths I had gone to ensure immortality, to guard myself against mortal death. And I must answer myself, that they believed a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort." At this the group of wizards started, shaking their heads and muttering denials. Then, one of the death eaters threw themselves forward, collapsing at Voldemorts feet.

"Master, forgive me. Forgive us all," he cried. Voldemort laughed, turning his wand on the wizards and crucioing him.

"You ask for forgiveness Avery? Lord Voldemort does not forgive, does not forget. You have 13 years to make up for. Wormtail has already begun paying his debt." He turned to Wormtail, waving his wand and producing a silver hand which attached itself to the bleeding stump.

"Thank you master, thank you, it is beautiful," Wormtail gasped. He moved forward, kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes before joining the circle. Voldemort went around, addressing some of the death eaters, passing others silently. He finally reached the last gap in the circle, the largest gap.

"Six missing death eaters. Three dead in my service, one too cowardly to return, he will pay. One who I believe has left my service forever, he will be killed. And one who remains my most faithful service, who has already re-entered my service. He is at Hogwarts and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived tonight." The death eaters all looked round, their eyes all landing on Harry.

"Yes, Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might even call him my guest of honour." There was silence, before Lucius stepped forward, asking how the miracle of Voldemort coming back occurred.

Voldemort paced, telling the story of what happened the night he fell and everything that happened leading up to tonight. He told of the magic Lily had enacted a powerful magic by sacrificing herself for Harry meaning he couldn't even touch him. He told of how he was ripped from his body and was less than spirit. He explained his plans of return, how he possessed bodies of animals before finding Quirrell and making the plans to steal the Philosophers Stone.

He told of how he was thwarted by Harry. How he gave up on returning, until a servant returned. How Nagini's venom had been used to create a potion to regain his strength. How they had found out about his faithful servant, being kept under the imperious to prevent him from returning to him. How they created the plan to kidnap Harry from the maze at the end of the Triwizard tournament. And then he turned to Harry with his wand pointed at him.

"Crucio." Pain worse than anything he had ever experienced flooded through his whole body. His whole body felt like it was on fire, his very bones felt like they were burning. And then the pain was gone, and he was hanging limply against the bonds tying him to the gravestone.

"Untie him Wormtail and give him back his wand." As the bonds were cut, Harry considered running, but his every nerve was still screaming from the torture curse and his injured leg was shaking underneath him.

"You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?" Harry didn't reply. The lessons with Sirius and Remus came back to him, but he knew he didn't have the skill to hold his own against someone as skilled as Voldemort. They began the duel and Voldemort immediately shot off a crucio.

Harry just managed to dodge, the curse hitting a gravestone behind him. Harry fired off a stunning spell that Voldemort easily deflected. Voldemort shot off two more crucios and Harry dodged one, resulting in him moving into the other one which he hadn't seen coming. He forced himself not to scream, even as his whole body ignited in pain. The curse was finally released, and Harry panted, trying to recover from the pain.

He shot off another spell, trying to disarm Voldemort. Voldemort flicked up a shield, easily blocking the charm. Another crucio hit Harry and this time he did scream. As the curse was released, he felt his every muscle protesting him even standing. He tried to raise his wand, desperately wanted to try and hit his opponent again. But he couldn't even find the strength to move his arm.

He stared at Voldemort, knowing that the duel would soon be ending, knowing he was going to collapse soon. He watched the next spell shoot towards him, knowing there was no blocking it and that he had no energy to dodge. He couldn't do anything as his vision was engulfed in the same green light from his earliest memory, before everything went black.

Hundreds of miles away, back at Hogwarts, a heart wrenching scream tore through the air.


	34. Pain

Ever since Harry had entered the maze, Ginny had been tense. Her mum and Bill were sitting in front of her, as were Harry's guardians, Remus and Sirius. Hermione was on her right, Ron on her left with the twins behind them. She knew all of them were just as worried about Harry as she was, but her worry was different.

They didn't know what Harry was going through. They didn't know what she was feeling. She could feel the terror, the rushes of horror, the bursts of adrenaline. Every emotion Harry experienced. And it terrified her. Knowing what he was feeling but not knowing what was happening was torture.

Two lots of red sparks had already occurred, leaving Harry and Cedric the only two in the maze. And then it happened.

The bond that was so strong between them stretched. It stretched even more than it had during the summer holidays, when they were at separate houses. It stretched so thin that Ginny had to struggle to find it for a moment, fearing that it would snap under the stretch. And her ability to sense where he was, was basically gone. All she could tell was that he was far away, extremely far away. But she had no clue how that had happened.

She tried to tune in to Harry's emotions, but all she could feel was terror and horror, the same things he had felt in the maze. And she had no clue what was happening. She focused on the bond, trying to contact him through her mind, or sense what he was feeling. She focused harder than she had ever focused before. And then she finally found the connection. But she didn't find an emotion or connect with his mind. She found a connection she hadn't found before.

Ginny saw through Harry's eyes. She saw what he was seeing, just in time to see Harry's vision be filled with green light. Then his vision went black and there was pain.

Her very essence felt ripped in half. She couldn't stop the scream from emerged from her. She screamed, over and over, in pain and in anguish. She kept reaching out for the bond that wasn't there anymore. A line that had been cut.

She was vaguely aware of what was going on around her but wasn't able to fully understand. She was simply overwhelmed by everything. Everything that had disappeared. Her screams slowly turned to anguished cries, tears starting to stream down her face. She kept calling out, trying to reach Harry.

But he didn't answer. He wasn't there. And he wouldn't be there ever again.


	35. Confusion

Hermione spent the entire time that Harry was in the maze watching Ginny out of the corner of her eye. She knew that Ginny was worried for her boyfriend, but her behaviour was... odd.

She winced or gasped slightly at random times, despite the fact that they couldn't see what was going on. A little while after the second red sparks had appeared, Hermione saw Ginny tense. Hermione watched Ginny intently. She seemed troubled.

Her eyes became slightly glazed over, as if she was seeing something somewhere else. And suddenly she screamed. A heart wrenching scream. It was a sound that Hermione had never heard before and never wanted to hear again. She just kept screaming and was starting to draw attention, from everyone except Remus and Sirius, who seemed so focussed on the maze that they didn't hear anything else.

Hermione gently pulled her up, guiding her out of the stands and up to the castle. Professor McGonagall had appeared next to her, accompanying them as they went, as did Ron after telling his family that they should keep watching the tournament, that they would make sure Ginny was fine. He appeared on Ginny's other side, helping Hermione guide Ginny up to the castle.

She didn't seem fully aware of what was going on around her, and just kept screaming. The screaming slowly becoming cries of anguish, tears starting to fall down her face. Words began to be distinguishable between sobs and screams.

"No.....no......come back.....don't leave me.......NO!" Tears started pouring down her face faster than before and she looked like she was about to break.

"Harry......HARRY......NO....HARRY.......NO!" Those words startled Hermione and she could tell that Ron was startled too.

They both paused mid-step, before continuing up to the castle. Professor McGonagall lead them hurriedly through the castle and up to the hospital wings. Hermione just hoped that Madame Pomphrey would be able to fix whatever was wrong with Ginny. Hermione and Ron lay Ginny down on a bed and Madame Pomphrey hurried over. Ginny kept screaming and crying, words no longer distinguishable through her sobs. Tears continued streaming down her cheeks and she seemed to be completely out of it.

"What happened?" Madame Pomphrey asked as soon as she appeared next to Ginny's bed.

"We don't know. She just started screaming. As we made our way up here the screams became crying as well. We could make out some words between the sobs. She was calling out for Harry, telling him not to leave her, to come back," Hermione said. Madame Pomphrey waved her wand over Ginny, frowning when a sheet of parchment came up blank.

"There is nothing physically wrong with her and she is under no spell, potion or enchantment that should make her act like this," Madame Pomphrey said.

"Is there anything you can do for her?" Professor McGonagall asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I'm afraid not. I can't do anything because I don't know what's wrong with her. I'm sorry." The four of them all turned to Ginny, who had stopped screaming and crying. She was now seemed to be unconscious, tears still pooling in her eyes and slowly rolling down her face.


	36. Loss

Cedric watched from his position under the invisibility cloak in horror as the green light engulfed Harry and his body fell to the ground, lifeless. Cedric was frozen in shock and horror, not even noticing that he could move again, not noticing that the spell Harry had placed on him was gone. Voldemort laughed, an evil cackle that rang through the air.

"No one can defeat me. The Boy-Who-Lived in no more. My faithful death eaters, we shall rise again. Go, you have your tasks, and do not speak of this." His voice was high and cold, sending shivers down Cedric's spine. Pops rang through the air as the death eaters disapparated, until only Voldemort and Wormtail remained.

"Deal with the body Wormtail and take the potion." With that command, Voldemort swept out of the graveyard, heading towards the manor at the top of the hill.

Cedric watched as the quivering man approached Harry's body, pulling out a flask, a small bag, and a pair of scissors. He knew he couldn't leave Harry there. Harry deserved better than what Voldemort would give him. He deserved better than being fed to Voldemort's snake like Voldemort had said earlier.

He stood up, still covered by the cloak that Harry had thrown over him less than half an hour ago. He moved silently towards the man, raising his wand. He sent a stunner towards the man, hitting him in the chest and causing Wormtail to fall to the ground. He crouched down, gently closing Harry's eyes and holding onto Harry's hand tightly before covering him with the cloak that had covered him.

He took the wand from beside Harry, tucking it in his pocket. Making sure he had a strong grip on Harry and the cloak was securely around him, he summoned the Triwizard cup, hoping it would still work as a portkey and take them to the outside of the maze. The cup landed in his hand and he felt the jerk behind his navel, pulling him and Harry's body away from the graveyard and back to Hogwarts.

He landed hard on the ground, still clutching the Triwizard cup and Harry tightly. It probably looked odd to the spectators, him gripping what would look like nothing. But he knew he had to hide Harry's body. His family deserved to be told first, deserved to be personally told, rather than seeing it with everyone. Dumbledore and his father were the first to reach him, both voicing their congratulations. That's when Dumbledore seemed to take in the whole picture.

"Congratulations my boy. You have brought tremendous honour, to both Hogwarts, Hufflepuff and yourself ... my boy, why are you gripping the air so tightly. Come on, stand up," Dumbledore said. He crouched down to help him up, probably thinking that he had injured his leg or something along those lines. He just shook his head, not able to bring himself to speak. His father was crouching down next to him now, trying to loosen his grip on the cup.\

"Come on Son. Presentation ceremony. You have to stand up," his dad said, trying to coax him up. He just shook his head. That's when he saw Harry's guardians. They were making their way out of the stands coming closer to where he lay. He knew he had to break the news to them. It had to be him. He shifted slightly, not releasing his grip on Harry or the cup, but moving so he was seated rather than lying.

"Dumbledore, where's Harry? Is he still in the maze?" Sirius asked as soon as he reached Dumbledore's side. Dumbledore and Cedric's father stood to meet the two newcomers.

"Presumably. As soon as Cedric appeared, Hagrid, Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape entered to find any champions remaining in the maze," Dumbledore replied. Cedric shook his head, a few tears leaking from his eyes. He recognised his old Defence teacher with Harry's Godfather and decided it would be easiest to tell him.

"Why are you shaking your head son? Are you crying?" his father asked. Instead of answering his father, he looked straight at his old Defence teacher.

"Professor Lupin," he said quietly. The four adults around him looked straight at him.

"Yes Cedric," Remus replied. Cedric looked down, finding he couldn't look into the eyes of Harry's guardians as he broke the terrible news.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he said. The tears had now started streaming down his face. Remus knelt down next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"What are you sorry about?" he asked gently. Cedric raised his face slightly, looking into Remus concern filled face, but not at the three still standing men.

"Harry. I'm sorry about Harry," he whispered.

"Do you mean beating him? Because he won't care. He'll be happy for you. He didn't even want to be in the tournament to begin with," Remus told him gently. And that made it even worse to Cedric. Harry hadn't wanted to compete and it had cost him his life. Cedric shook his head again. He couldn't bring himself to utter the two words that would break the hearts of so many, especially the man in front of him.

"Cedric, look at me. Why are you sorry about Harry?" Remus asked, concern beginning to lace his voice. Cedric breathed in deeply, knowing he had to tell him.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Harry ... ... Harry's dead," he whispered. He turned his head away, not able to look at Remus. He heard Remus gasp and forced himself to look. Remus had risen but stumbled backwards to be caught by Sirius. Remus had tears beginning to fall from his eyes and he was shaking his head.

"No. No he can't be," Remus said, still shaking his head.

"I'm so sorry. I saw it happen. There was ... there was nothing I could do," he said, looking straight at Remus.

"No," Remus managed to choke out, before breaking down into tears. Sirius turned him around, hugging him close to his chest.

"Hey, Moony, what happened. What's wrong," Sirius said. Remus didn't reply, just relaxing into Sirius arms, crying.

"Mr Diggory, what happened?" Dumbledore asked, clearly seeing that something bad had happened.

"Dumbledore, the crowd is getting restless. Is the presentation going to be soon?" his father asked.

"As soon as Harry is retrieved from the maze, the presentation will occur," Dumbledore said, before turning back to Cedric. "What happened Cedric?" Cedric shook his head.

"Not with the crowd. Can they go back to the castle first," he requested quietly. Dumbledore looked him over before nodding. He moved back, into the full sight of the whole stadium. He pointed his wand at his throat and amplified his voice.

"Thank you all for your support of all four champions. If you could all head inside, we will get our champions healed and ready for the presentation tomorrow," he announced. The crowd began to disperse, heading back to the castle. Remus turned around when he heard the announcement.

"The Weasleys and Hermione need to stay," he said, just as quietly as Cedric had been. Dumbledore nodded, waving Mrs Weasley, Bill, Fred and George over.

"Where are Mr Weasley, Miss Weasley and Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked.

"They went to the castle during the challenge. Ginny was screaming, obviously in pain about something. Ron said they would make sure she was ok while we kept supporting Harry," Mrs Weasley said.

"What's this about?" Bill asked. Dumbledore looked towards Cedric, who took this as his cue to explain. He took a deep breath, hoping it would be easier now that he had done it once already. Remus stepped away from Sirius and Cedric looked up at him.

"Did you ... were you able to..." Remus took a breath. "Where is he?" Cedric bowed his head, looking down at his hand that was still firmly clasping Harry's invisible arm. He slowly unclasped his hand from the cup. He turned to the empty place that Harry's body occupied, and the people gathered around him looked too.

"He's here. I ... I couldn't leave him there," he choked out.

"Thank you," Remus whispered.

"Remus, Cedric, what are you talking about. Where's Harry?" Sirius asked, concern and urgency leaking into his voice. Cedric didn't reply, instead using his free hand to remove the cloak from Harry's body. Everyone around him gasped.

"Harry," Sirius whispered. Cedric couldn't stop the tears from falling thick and fast down his face.

"He saved my life. He pushed me out of the way of a killing curse and then cast the body bind curse on me, before covering me with the cloak. But I couldn't do anything to help him," Cedric managed to get out. Fred and George knelt down next to Cedric, taking in the body of their surrogate brother.

"How did he die?" Sirius managed to get out.

"In a duel. I'm actually surprised he lasted as long as he did. He was under the Cruciatus curse three times before it was ended. He even managed to shoot some curses back," Cedric said. He could hear how emotionless his voice had gone. But he couldn't help it. He needed to tell them how it had happened. They deserved that much. To know how well Harry did.

"Who was he duelling?" Remus asked, voice hollow. Cedric looked up Dumbledore, knowing this information needed to be told. He steadied himself, before speaking.

"V ... Vol ... Voldemort," he whispered, forcing himself to say the name he had never used before. Everyone gasped again.

"But how? He's gone, isn't he?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"He's back. There was a potion. He took some of Harry's blood," Cedric explained. He showed them the place on Harry's arm that had been cut for the blood.

"He summoned his death eaters, addressed lots of them by name." That's when he remembered. "Headmaster, there's a spy in the castle. One of his men has been here all year. They're the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet."

"I will deal with that. For now, you need to go to the hospital wing. You are injured and I think a dreamless sleep will be welcomed," Dumbledore said. Cedric nodded, but still didn't remove his hand from Harry's arm.

"What about Harry?" Fred asked.

"We will bring him up to the Hospital Wing as well. I believe it will be best. We will all go, much must be discussed," Dumbledore decided. The group all nodded. Dumbledore conjured a stretcher underneath Harry's body. Cedric slowly released his grip on Harry, draping the invisibility cloak over his body again. Harry didn't need anyone wandering the halls to see him yet.

Dumbledore waved his wand over where Harry had just been, making a faint glow surround the stretcher before levitating it. His father helped him to his feet, helping to support his weight as his exhaustion hit him. As a group, they walked to the hospital wing, Harry's body in the middle of group.

Dumbledore entered the hospital wing first, followed by Sirius and Remus. The Weasleys entered next, immediately hurrying around Ginny's bed. Cedric came in last, leaning heavily on his father, after allowing Harry's invisible body to come in. Madame Pomphrey bustled him into a bed and he gratefully sat down, body heavy. Fleur and Viktor were already asleep in their own beds, injuries healing or already healed.

Cedric watched Dumbledore send the glow of Harry onto a bed as well. Madam Pomphrey handed him a dreamless sleep potion. He gratefully took it, only just letting the full amount of exhaustion hit him as the shock began to wear off.

"I'll patch you up while you sleep, Mr Diggory," Madam Pomphrey said. Cedric nodded, knocking back the potion. He lay back, letting unconsciousness overtake him. The last thing he heard before he drifted into sleep was Madam Pomphrey talking to Dumbledore.

"What of the last champion Dumbledore? Where is Mr Potter?"


	37. Shock

Hermione and Ron looked up from Ginny's sleeping form as they heard the Hospital Wing doors open. Professor McGonagall had left a few minutes ago to see how the task was going, so it was just them, with Madame Pomphrey in her office, trying to see if she could find a way to help Ginny.

Fleur and Viktor were both asleep in other beds, injuries mending. Dumbledore entered the hospital wing first, closely followed by Sirius and Remus. Mrs Weasley, Bill, Fred and George entered next, immediately moving over to where they sat next to Ginny. They didn't see the last people to enter, as Mrs Weasley had gained their attention.

"Is Ginny ok? What was wrong with her?" she asked.

"We think she's ok at the moment. But there was nothing physically wrong with her. She passed out soon after we got her up here," Ron said.

"Do you know what she was screaming about?" Bill asked. Ron and Hermione shook their heads, not wanting to say that there were words amongst the screams.

"There had to have been something," Fred said.

"Those screams were heart wrenching," George agreed. Ron and Hermione exchanged looks, but before they could answer, their focus was drawn to Dumbledore and Madame Pomphrey. They were standing around a bed that Cedric Diggory was in, while Remus and Sirius were sitting around the bed next to Cedric's.

"What of the last champion Dumbledore? Where is Mr Potter?" Madame Pomphrey asked after she had administered a potion to Cedric.

"Miss Delacour and Mr Krum were brought up as soon as they were brought out of the maze, but I have not seen Mr Potter." Dumbledore didn't reply and Hermione noticed that Remus and Sirius looked devastated and had tear tracks on their cheeks.

Hermione looked closer at the bed that Sirius and Remus were sitting around had a faint glow around it. The glow seemed to be around the shape of a body.

"Why is there a glow around that bed?" she asked. No one answered. Madame Pomphrey seemed to be getting annoyed at the lack of answers now.

"Dumbledore. Where. Is. Mr. Potter?" she demanded. Dumbledore sighed, an obvious weight on his shoulders.

"Harry is here, under his invisibility cloak. He is the glow around the bed," he said, almost reluctantly.

"And why is he invisible? How am I meant to treat him for injuries if I am unaware that he is even here?"

"Because there's nothing you can do for him," Remus said, voice hollow and full of loss.

"I don't believe that. I can always heal my patients as long as I know what's wrong with them. Now, remove that cloak and let me see," Madame Pomphrey demanded, moving over to the bed indicated by Dumbledore. Sirius stood up with great difficulty, placing his hand just over the glow.

"You can't help him. No one can," Sirius said, before grasping what seemed to be air and pulling the cloak back, revealing Harry's head. Before he could remove the cloak any further, Ginny shot up and was out of her bed before anyone could stop her. She moved quickly over to Harry, tears forming in her eyes again. She placed her palm gently on his cheek, the other resting over where the right side of his chest should be.

"Harry, wake up. Don't leave me. Wake up Harry," she sobbed.

"Miss Weasley, I must insist that you go back to your bed this instance. I need to be able to heal Mr Potter and I have not cleared you yet," Madame Pomphrey said. Ginny ignored her, still sobbing over Harry.

"Harry, come on, you promised not to leave me. You promised Harry. Come back." Ron moved over to his sister, pulling her gently away from Harry.

"Hey Ginny, just let Madame Pomphrey heal him. He's probably just unconscious," he said, hugging her.

"Ron, he's not unconscious," Mrs Weasley said.

"Then what's wrong with him?" Hermione asked.

"Harry's dead," Bill said gently.

"He's not dead. He's not dead. He told me he'd never leave me. He's not dead," Ginny said, shaking her head. Sirius pulled the rest of the cloak off Harry's body, holding the cloak tightly in his hands.

Hermione gasped, taking in all the injuries to his body. Ginny pulled away from Ron and moved to Harry's body, hugging him.

"No, Harry, come back, Harry, no," she sobbed into his still chest. Her hand brushed right over where his heart was. And she then started screaming. Not the heart-wrenching screams that she had first done, but the anguished half-sobs half-screams that she had moved to as they reached the castle. She soon went limp, just like she had the first time. Remus and Sirius gently pulled her limp body off Harry and moved her back to her bed.

"Would you like me to heal his physical injuries?" Madame Pomphrey asked Sirius. Sirius nodded. Madame Pomphrey waved her wand over Harry's body, a sheet of parchment appearing. She read the list, eyes widening as she took in all his various injuries.

"Would anyone be able to tell me why he has a cut on his arm that was apparently used for a dark ritual? Or what exactly occurred in the maze that caused Mr Potter to have been put under the Cruciatus curse three times before being killed?" she asked.

"According to Cedric, the cup was a portkey to a graveyard where a ritual took place to resurrect Lord Voldemort. Voldemort then duelled Harry, which is when the Cruciatus took place," Dumbledore explained.

"Wait, You-Know-Who's back?" Ron asked.

"Yes Mr Weasley. He is the one who killed Harry," Dumbledore replied. Madame Pomphrey began casting lots of spells over Harry, causing his various cuts to heal and bruises to fade, his injured leg mending.

"Madame Pomphrey, what is wrong with my daughter?" Mrs Weasley asked, looking down at Ginny who was again unconscious. Madame Pomphrey moved over to Ginny's bed, waving her wand over Ginny's body.

There is nothing wrong with her that I can tell. I have no idea why she is reacting the way she is," Madame Pomphrey replied, giving the sheet of parchment, which had appeared with the spell, to Mrs Weasley. Bill read the parchment over her shoulder, before handing it to Fred and George. Hermione and Ron read the short piece of parchment from behind the twins.

_External Physical Injuries_

_None_

_Internal Physical Injuries_

_None_

"I am going to request that Mr Diggory, Mr Krum, Miss Delacour and Miss Weasley stay here over night," Madame Pomphrey said, moving back to Cedric who was clearly fully asleep now and began healing him. "I am going to ask the rest of you to leave now and come back to visit tomorrow." No one argued with her, instead all filing out slowly. Remus and Sirius were the last to leave, casting sad glances back at Harry's body.


	38. Plans

"Come up to my office. We have much to discuss," Professor Dumbledore said. The group nodded, heading up to the headmasters office. Once inside, they all sat down, in front of the desk, while Professor Dumbledore sat behind it.

"Hogwarts will be going into lockdown until we find the spy that Mr Diggory mentioned. But, first, I need to summon Minerva and Severus." Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, a Phoenix Patronus emerging.

"Tell Minerva and Severus that urgent matters need them in my office," he instructed and the Patronus disappeared. They didn't have to wait long before Professor Snape arrived, Professor McGonagall entering the office only a minute later.

"What do you need Albus? We are still trying to locate Mr Potter in the maze," Professor McGonagall said immediately upon entering the office.

"No need Minerva. Harry left the maze at the same time as Cedric did," Professor Dumbledore said. "Pressing matters have arisen. Severus, I assume you understand what I mean?"

"He's back, isn't he? I had hoped I had imagined the summons earlier tonight," Professor Snape replied.

"Cedric confirmed it. I hope you know what you have to do?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"I do."

"If you're ready then. The castle will be in lockdown when you get back." Professor Snape nodded, before he swept out of the room.

"We need to organise the Order again. With Voldemort's return, we must act swiftly. Sirius, I hate to ask it of you so soon, but are you able to alert the needed people. Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, the old crowd," Professor Dumbledore requested. Hermione looked over to see Sirius look up from his hands, tears slowly sliding down his face.

"I will, but for him now. And nothing is to be done until I get back," Sirius requested quietly.

"Of course, Sirius, thank you."

"Dumbledore, what am I missing?" Professor McGonagall demanded.

"I regret to tell you of the loss of one of your students Minerva. Harry Potter lost his life at the hand of Lord Voldemort tonight," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. Professor McGonagall gasped and Hermione felt a new set of tears stream down her face.

The group talked for a short while longer, discussing plans now that Voldemort was back and organising Harry's funeral. Sirius didn't want it to be anything big, saying that Harry always hated the attention and would want that. Hermione didn't say anything, but silently agreed. Eventually, Sirius stood.

"I should get going and start alerting the others in the order. Nothing is to happen to Harry while I am gone," Sirius said. Professor Dumbledore inclined his head in agreement and Sirius left.

"Misters Weasley and Miss Granger, you should head back to the Gryffindor Common Room. I am sure you are tired and would rather sleep on all this information," Professor Dumbledore said. Hermione nodded and heard murmurs of agreement from the Weasley boys behind her.

"What are we to say if anyone asks where Mr Potter is?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Say he is in the infirmary, along with the other champions. I will announce his passing to everyone tomorrow," Professor Dumbledore said. Professor McGonagall nodded and bustled them all out of the office. None of them spoke while heading back to the common room, all lost in their own thoughts.

They reached the portrait hole and Professor McGonagall said the password, allowing the four students to enter the common room.

"I suggest heading straight to bed. I will have a house elf put a phial of dreamless sleep next to your bed in case you need it," Professor McGonagall said quietly.

"Thank you, Professor," George said quietly.

"Goodnight Professor," Hermione said.

The boys all headed up to their dorms, ignoring the few people who tried to talk to them. Hermione followed their example, heading straight up to her dorm. She kept her head down, trying to hide the tear tracks visible on her face. She reached her room and went into the bathroom to get changed for bed. When she left the bathroom, she found the phial of dreamless sleep on her bedside table, just like Professor McGonagall had said. She also found Lavender and Parvati sitting on their beds, waiting for her.

"Are you ok Hermione?" Parvati asked, obviously noticing the tear tracks on her face and her red, swollen eyes.

"Just overwhelmed by everything," she replied quietly.

"Has Harry come out of the maze yet? Do you know if he's ok?" Lavender asked.

"He's up in the infirmary with the rest of the champions," she replied and she could hear how emotionless her voice had gone. "I'm going to bed."

She slipped into bed, lying under the covers. She closed her eyes, only to be greeted by the image of Harry's lifeless body lying on the hospital bed, the sound of Ginny's heart-wrenching screams echoing around in her head.

She opened her eyes and picked up the potion phial, drinking the potion in one go. She lay back down again, letting the potion sweep through her and slowly closing her eyes, this time greeted by darkness and silence.


	39. Announcement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter the story will be up to date with its counterpart on Wattpad. This means that I will now have a set update schedule, with a new chapter appearing every Wednesday and Sunday.

The next day, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George all sat together at the end of the Gryffindor table, closed off from the rest of the house. The champions and Ginny were all still in the hospital wing. Dumbledore and McGonagall had decided it would be best to announce Harry's death without Cedric in the hall.

The discussion throughout the hall was mainly over three things. The final results of the tournament, why the school was in lockdown and why the hall was covered in black. Dumbledore had placed the castle in lockdown the previous night, after dismissing everyone from his office. No one would be leaving the castle, bar Snape for his duties for the Order, until they had caught whoever Voldemort's spy was. Only Dumbledore, McGonagall, the Weasleys and Hermione knew why everything was black. It was in mourning for Harry. The whole hall went quiet as Dumbledore stood at the middle of the table.

"May I have your attention please. I understand that today should be a day of celebration, a day where we celebrate the winner of the Triwizard Tournament and recognise the achievements of the Champions. However, we have no reason to celebrate.

"By now, you all will have noticed the black surrounding the hall. This is to show respect for a wonderful young man, a student who will never walk these halls again. This is in mourning of Harry Potter, who lost his life last night. There will be a service at the end of the week for anyone who wishes to pay their respects." After that announcement, Dumbledore sat down again, a privacy ward appearing around the teachers table and the group at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"What do you mean Dumbledore?" Flitwick asked as soon as the ward was up.

"When Cedric appeared clutching the Triwizard Cup, he was also holding Harry's body, covered in an invisibility cloak. Harry died in a duel with Voldemort, who was resurrected last night," Dumbledore replied heavily. McGonagall had a few tears rolling down her face.

"I am sorry for the loss of one of your students," Madam Maxime said. Dumbledore inclined his head in thanks, his face still full of despair. No one noticed the conflicted look on Moody's face.

Down at the Gryffindor table, the group of four was glad for the privacy ward that had risen after Dumbledore's announcement. Hermione and Ron had tears rolling down their faces again, while Fred and George had pained expressions on their faces, having already exhausted all their tears.

"I thought we agreed on a small service where his parents are buried," Ron said quietly.

"There are many people here who would want to pay their respects. And many people all around the country. By having a service here it will make sure the real service and burial are only close friends and family," Fred said hollowly.

"Do you think Sirius knows?" Hermione asked.

"Possibly," George shrugged, his voice as emotionless as his twin's. "I'm going to go visit Ginny." They all stood up and quietly made their way out of the hall, heading up to the hospital wing.

They found Cedric, Fleur and Viktor all sitting up in bed, eating, while Madame Pomphrey bustled around, handing them different potions and checking on various injuries. Cedric was completely ignoring Viktor, although none of them had any clue why, his face blank of any emotions. Ginny was still lying motionless in her bed, the only sign that she was alive was her chest slowly rising and falling. Harry's bed was surrounded in curtains, giving his body privacy. Three heads turned to face them as they entered.

"How are you all?" Ron asked, looking between the three champions.

"I'll be fine, just a headache from an Imperius curse that I was put under while in the maze," Viktor said with a shrug. This information seemed new to Cedric as he shot Viktor a surprised look before going back to his breakfast, face emotionless again.

"I'm good, just waiting to be released," Fleur added. Cedric looked down at his food before replying.

"I don't know. Everywhere aches slightly from being under a Cruciatus," here he glanced at Viktor before looking at his plate again, "and I keep replaying everything over in my head, trying to see if there would have been a way to save him."

"We don't blame you. You brought him back, and that's enough," Fred said.

"What happened? We have asked Cedric, but he won't tell us," Viktor said.

"Harry died," Ron said, voice hollow. Fleur gasped, before looking over to Ginny.

"So that's why. Oh, the poor girl," she said under her breath.

"We came to see how Ginny's doing," Hermione said, moving over to the girl's bed.

"She seems to have slipped into a coma of sorts, but her magic is still semi-active and seems to be fluxing. Her magic keeps shifting and changing. I don't know if she will wake up or what caused the coma," Madame Pomphrey said.

"She will wake up, in two or three days. Her body and magic are adjusting," Fleur said quietly.

"How do you know?" Madame Pomphrey asked sharply.

"I have heard of something like this happening, even if I have never seen it before. I'm sorry, but it's not my place to tell you."

"Miss Delacour, if it will allow me to heal a patient, I must insist that you tell me what you know."

"There's nothing you can do. Her body and magic must adjust on their own. And I gave my word that I wouldn't tell anyone," Fleur said. Madame Pomphrey glanced at Ginny again before she moved towards the three champions, collecting their food trays.

"Miss Delacour, you are free to go whenever. Mr Krum, you should be able to leave tonight, depending on how the headache progresses. Mr Diggory, tomorrow morning at the earliest."

"Thank you. What is happening for him?" Cedric asked softly, turning to the group.

"Dumbledore announced his death at breakfast. The Great Hall is going to be fully black until the end of term at least. There is also going to be a service at the end of the week for anyone who wishes to pay their respects. His funeral will be during the first week of the holidays, for close friends and family only, but you are invited," Ron explained. Cedric nodded.

"Thank you."


	40. Grief

When Ginny woke up, the first thing she noticed was the dull ache in her chest. The space in her mind that the bond used to occupy was quiet, empty. She lacked the second set of emotions that she had grown so used to. Her awareness of herself was lacking, no longer searching for her other half.

She slowly sat up in her bed, looking around the hospital wing. All the beds were empty, except for one, which was surrounded in privacy curtains. She instinctively knew that that was where Harry's body was. She turned to her left, seeing Fleur sitting in the chair beside her bed.

"Hello Ginny. I am so sorry for your loss," Fleur said quietly. Ginny felt tears pool in her eyes, but none fell.

"How am I going to keep going without him?" she asked, voice shaking. She had never thought that she would lose Harry and had no clue how to continue living without him. She always prided herself on being strong and independent, but loosing Harry had broken her.

"You have to be strong for him. He would want you to try and be happy, to find love in other places," Fleur replied.

Fleur placed her arm around Ginny's shoulders, holding her tight.

"I feel so different. Everything is quiet, empty."

"I know Gin." Her heart twinged painfully at the nickname that Harry had given her. "It will take a while to get used to. But you survived before the bond, you have to at least try now."

The tears finally fell, the wall holding back the dam bursting.

"It hurt so much. I managed to connect to him, see through his eyes, right as the killing curse hit. It felt like everything was being ripped in half," Ginny choked out. Fleur didn't say anything, just comforted her, holding her close.

"How long was I asleep?" Ginny finally asked as the tears subsided.

"Three days. It's the 28th of June today." That caused another lot of tears to emerge from Ginny. Fleur hugged her tight, trying to calm her down.

"It's been a year today that we had our first kiss. Since the bond appeared," Ginny sobbed.

It took a little while before she calmed down enough to ask the next question on her mind.

"Why was I out for so long?"

"Your body and magic were adjusting for the loss of Harry," Fleur explained. "It happens to anyone with soul bond when their soul-bonded dies. It just normally happens a lot later in life."

"How do you ... how do you know?" she asked, curling up into herself a bit more.

"My great-great-grandmother's best friend had a soul bond. Because we can see the bond, the information about the bond from a first-hand experience was passed down so we could help if we came across someone else with a bond." She nodded, the tears still rolling down her face.

"Fleur, do you know what's happening for him?" Ginny asked quietly. She couldn't bring herself to say his name.

"There's a large service for him today, down by the lake. Anyone in the country who wants to pay their respects is able to come. There will be a smaller funeral for him during the holidays for close friends and family."

"Will you go with me? To both services?" Ginny asked. Fleur gave Ginny a small, sad smile.

"Of course, if that's what you want."

"I do. It's what Harry would have wanted as well."


	41. The Large Service

Dumbledore entered the hospital wing as Fleur helped Ginny out of bed.

"Headmaster, is it time?" Fleur asked, as she steadied Ginny. Ginny felt her legs wobble, the strength in them barely there. She hadn't even realised how much of her strength was gone without her bond to Harry. Fleur had said she would get it back, it would just take a while to fully adjust.

"It is. I was coming to take Harry down now, while everyone is arriving and finding their seats. It is good to see you awake Ginny," Dumbledore said. He moved around the curtains, disappearing from view. He appeared again with a floating glow behind him.

"Shall we head down?" Dumbledore asked. Fleur looked to Ginny who was still leaning on her. She nodded slightly.

"We shall," Fleur agreed. Fleur and Ginny followed Dumbledore out of the hospital wing and down to the grounds.

There was a large marquee set up next to the lake, hundreds of chairs set up underneath it. Half the chairs were already full just from the students of Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, while the other half of the chairs were slowly filling up with people from all over Britain, including many high-ranking people such as the minister. Fleur led Ginny to the front row, where Hermione, Ron, Fred and George had saved a seat for her. On the other side of the row sat Mrs Weasley, Bill, Remus, Sirius, Cedric and Viktor. Fleur helped Ginny sit down next to Hermione.

"Stay with me?" Ginny asked quietly. Fleur nodded, sitting down on the spare chair next to her, moving her arm around Ginny's shoulders again. Ginny leaned into Fleur's hug slightly.

"Hey, it's good to see you up," Hermione said quietly, resting her hand on Ginny's leg. Ginny grasped her hand and Hermione squeezed it. Ginny gave Hermione a sad smile, not knowing if she would be able to speak without crying.

All the seats were soon filled, Dumbledore stood and cancelled the disillusionment charm on Harry's body. He talked about Harry's achievements, his triumphs and everything positive in his life that the public knew. After Dumbledore came many other, all talking about how the loss of Harry Potter would affect the world, or how his achievements and successes had changed and helped the world. Person after person got up and talked about Harry, but to Ginny it all felt cold.

They didn't know him, not really. They didn't know what had made him laugh or cry. They didn't know how his upbringing had affected his life, or how he had managed to overcome the childhood abuse, to flourish despite it. They didn't know his best or worst subjects, or how he performed many different stunts in the air. They didn't know how much he hated attention or the spotlight, didn't how he would prefer to just be another person. They didn't know Harry as a person, they only knew him as Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

After all the official people spoke, the professors got up and spoke one at a time. They spoke of how he performed in each of their classes, how he cooperated with all his classmates. They spoke of everything good about him. And even though they had known him, to Ginny it was still cold, missing things. Because they knew him as Mr Potter before Harry.

Finally, other students got up to speak. Angelina, Katie and Alicia spoke about how good he was for the Quidditch team, not just because of his Quidditch skills, but because of his try everything attitude. Many different Gryffindors spoke about his attitude and how he was a model Gryffindor. They still only knew him as Harry Potter the Gryffindor, rather than Harry.

After that, the boys from their dorm spoke, talking about Harry that they knew, the one who snuck out at random times of the night for many different reasons. They spoke of a Harry really similar to the one that Ginny knew, but still not the same. Cedric spoke of his sportsmanship, of how in Quidditch and in the Triwizard Tournament, he always made sure that his competitors were ok. She was beginning to think that the Harry she knew was a Harry that only she knew.

Neville was the last to speak. He stepped down and went back to his seat. Ginny was surprised that she hadn't cried during all the speeches, but she thought that might have been because she had exhausted all her tears. The crowd got up one row at a time, to go up and speak to Harry's body. It came time for the front row to go up, but Ginny couldn't bring herself to get up.

She let Hermione and Ron go up after Fred and George. Fleur stood up and offered a hand to Ginny, but Ginny simply shook her head. She wasn't ready to see Harry again. Not if he couldn't talk to her.

Everyone who had come to Hogwarts for the service slowly left, after giving their condolences to his friends and family. It was eventually time for dinner and Fleur offered her hand to Ginny, helping her out of her seat and up to the castle. Ginny sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, her friends and family sitting around her, Fleur still directly next to her. She was glad that there was someone who at least knew why she was still adjusting to everything, why she needed the physical support. She rested her head on Fleur's shoulder, simply letting the older girl fill her plate for her.

"Fleur, will I always be this tired after so little amount of exertion?" she said quietly as Fleur handed her a fork.

"Only for a week at the most. It will get better as everything adjusts, I promise," Fleur replied just as quietly, rubbing her arm. Ginny nodded and slowly began to eat, eyes staying firmly downcast on her plate.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Ron asked, reaching across the table to pat her hand. Ginny retracted her hand as soon as Ron touched it, a small amount pain erupting from the place her brother had touched. She moved the arm that had simply been resting on the table to lie in her lap.

"Ginny?" Ron asked again. She shook her head, unable to make her thoughts into words. Hermione brought up another topic and Ginny allowed the conversations to carry on around her without paying attention. She let the words wash over her, trying not to think about Harry. But her thoughts just kept circling back to Harry.

She couldn't stop thinking about the service, how no one knew him like she had. Her thoughts kept reminding her of how Harry was missing. How his voice was missing from her head and the conversation. How his presence was missing from beside her, holding her hand as they ate, making her thankful that she was left-handed while he was right. She would hear a lull in conversation and remember how Harry would always have a way to fill those lulls, with a story or a joke.

"Ginny, do you want to head up to the dorms?" Ginny was brought out of her thoughts before she could get lost in a swirl of memories and depression, by Hermione's question.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess," she murmured.

"Do you want me to help you up to your common room?" Fleur asked quietly. Ginny nodded and Fleur stood and helped her up. Hermione stood as well and the three girls walked back up to the Gryffindor common room, Ginny walking in the middle. She was still leaning on Fleur, just as heavily as she was the last two times.

Hermione entered the common room first, Fleur and Ginny following close behind. They made their way up the stairs to the third-year dorms and Ginny immediately sat down on her bed, collapsing onto it. She moved over so that she was at the head of her bed, leaning against the wall.

"Ginny, are you ok? You've just seemed really out of it?" Hermione asked after sitting down on the bed opposite Ginny's. Fleur had sat down next to Hermione. Ginny shrugged in response, not knowing what to say. How could she explain everything she was going through. Her and Harry had agreed to not tell anyone about their bond. And even if Hermione knew, she wouldn't be able to understand. No one could.

"How are you coping Hermione. You lost your best friend," Fleur said. Hermione sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I don't know. It's so weird, just knowing he's not going to be there again. To know he won't be there to ask me for help with homework, or to give me a heart attack with the stunts he performs on the Quidditch pitch. I don't even fully know. Like, I know he's gone, but it hasn't fully sunk in. I keep expecting him to be sitting next to me, or to come up behind me."

"Ginny's experiencing those types of things as well. She didn't just lose her friend; she lost her boyfriend. And losing a partner is extremely hard," Fleur explained.

"I know. It's just, you've seemed really tired today Ginny," Hermione said, looking back up at her.

"I was in a coma for three days and my magic is all wonky. I don't even know what's happening half the time Hermione," she sighed. Hermione gave her a small smile.

"I need to get going, my classmates are waiting for me. I'll see you tomorrow Ginny, make sure you rest. I promise it will get better, it will just take time," Fleur said, standing up.

"Um, before you go, I have one question about what's happening," she murmured. Fleur moved towards her, crouching in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Fleur asked quietly.

"Why did it hurt for Ron to touch my skin?" she whispered.

"Both your body and magic are extremely sensitive when it comes to other males. No matter who they are or their intentions towards to, your body and magic will reject them. The only male who can touch you while your magic adjusts like this would have been Harry." Fleur stood up and moved towards the door, stopping in the doorway when Ginny spoke again.

"Thank you, for all your help."

"Of course, Ginny. No one should have to go through what you're going through. And definitely not alone." Fleur left the room and Hermione stood up, moving to sit next to Ginny.

"It's going to be ok Gin. We'll get through this," Hermione said, hugging her. Ginny felt her heart clench at the nickname. She leant into Hermione's hug, taking comfort in knowing someone else was there.

They just sat like that for a while, just leaning into each other. Ginny felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep, the exhaustion catching up with her. Everything about her was tired. Her body, magic and mind were all adjusting, and it was just so tiring. She felt her eyes slipping close and didn't fight it. She felt herself being laid down completely on her bed, rather than leaning on Hermione.

Sleep claimed her and she drifted into dreams. Her dreams were filled with Harry. Harry crying out to her, asking her for help escaping from the void he was lost in. His voice, calling out to her from all around. She tossed and turned as she slept, finally shooting awake, gasping for breath, tears slowly falling down her face. She looked around, finding her classmates sleeping peacefully all around her. She slowly lay down again, hoping that this time, her sleep would be more peaceful.


	42. Funeral

Ginny stood in front of her mirror, gazing at her full black outfit emotionlessly. The last week had been horrible for her. Her body and magic had finally fully adjusted to the emptiness that Harry had left, but she was still sensitive to males. She had become almost devoid of emotions, not able to bring herself to smile at any of her brothers' attempts to cheer her up. The only thing she felt was empty.

A knock at the door pulled her away from the mirror and she turned to see who had come into her room. Charlie stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe slightly. He had come back from Romania a few days ago to be with his family.

"Hey Ginny, are you almost ready to go?" he asked softly. Ginny nodded, moving towards the bed to put on her shoes. Charlie extended his hand to her, silently offering to lead her downstairs. She didn't take the hand, simply hugging herself and standing in front of the doorway. Charlie moved out of the way, letting her exit her room. As she passed him, he gently placed his hand on her arm. She gasped as a pain shot across her body from where his hand was. She jerked away slightly and hugged herself tighter.

"Please, don't touch me." Her voice was quiet as she made the request, just like it had been every time she talked over the past week.

"Sorry," Charlie replied, giving her a soft smile. Ginny looked away from her brother. Not even her favourite brother could bring a smile to her lips. She made her way downstairs, stopping outside the kitchen when she heard Ron's voice.

"I don't get why Ginny has been affected so badly. I mean, I know that she lost her boyfriend, but they hadn't even been dating for that long. Not really. She didn't know him for as long as I did. I don't get why she's reacted worse than I have. She shouldn't be this bad for so long."

"Ron, you have to understand that everyone goes through grief differently," her mum began, before Ron interrupted her.

"But she wasn't as close to him as I was. He was my best friend, for four years. She only knew him for two." His voice was loud and harsh, and Ginny finally felt something other than empty. She felt a small amount of anger well up inside of her and Ginny couldn't stop herself from bursting into the kitchen. She found her mum and youngest older brother seated at the table, both wearing full black, just like everyone else.

"You don't understand how hard this is for me Ron. You don't understand how losing him affected me. And no one will ever understand how much pain I've had to deal with over the last week. Because what Harry and I had was special and time restraints don't matter. Because I loved him Ron," she said loudly.

The outburst was over almost as soon as it had begun, and she sat down heavily next to her mum. Ron moved out of his seat, so he was standing behind her and reached his arms out, hugging her from behind.

"Don't touch me," she exclaimed, flinching as pain emerging from both sides of her body. Ron didn't listen, keeping his arms wrapped around her, probably trying to comfort her. Her whole body was soon hurting, the pain from Ron's touch expanding and worsening the longer the contact remained.

"I said don't touch me." She managed to move enough to shove her brother away and curled up tightly into herself.

"Sorry," Ron whispered. Ginny didn't say anything, simply holding herself as the pain slowly dissipated. Fred and George soon entered the kitchen, Bill following them along with her dad.

"Come on, it's time," her dad said. Ginny stood and took hold of her mum's arm for the side along apparition to Godrics Hallow. Ron took their dad's arm and everyone apparated out.

As soon as they landed Ginny spotted Fleur standing alone and moved over to her. She was grateful that she had come.

"Thanks for coming Fleur. Can we sit together?" she asked as soon as she was standing next to the older girl.

"Of course." Together, they moved over to sit near the front of the chairs. There was only a few rows, the funeral only small. Hermione soon appeared with Ron and they sat down next to them. Soon, the small group was all seated.

Harry's coffin was carried down the aisle by Sirius, Remus, Bill and her dad. They placed the beautifully carved coffin at the front, before Remus, Bill and her dad took their seats. Sirius stayed at the front, resting one hand on the side of the coffin.

"Thank you for coming. I know that there was a large service only a week ago, but this is what Harry would have wanted. A small service, with just his close friend and family.

"I know that many of you knew Harry in many different ways. As a best friend, a surrogate brother or son, or as a boyfriend. But I knew him as my godson, a wonderful child that I was privileged to help raise. When he was just a baby, I wish I could say that I was his favourite. But he always loved Remus, so much that no one knew if his first word was Mummy or Moony. I regret so much that I wasn't there for 12 years of his life, but I am grateful for the time I had with him.

"It is so unfair that he was taken from us at such a young age, when he had so much of his life left to live. He should have been here to take his OWLs next year, to graduate Hogwarts in three. He should have lived long enough to turn his girlfriend into his wife, long enough to have a family of his own. But life is cruel, taking him from us young when he should have died from old age. But his memory will live on in all of us, even if he isn't here to live for himself."

Ginny felt tears dripped down her face. She had thought she was done crying, but Sirius' speech had broken open a dam that she thought was empty. His speech made her think about what her future should have been like, a future with Harry. Remus got up to speak next, helping Sirius to his chair before moving to stand at the front.

"I didn't know Harry for as long as I wish I had and now our time has been cut short. I remember when he was so young, just learning to walk, talk and use his magic. Even at less than a year old, he had captured all our hearts. I met him again, not daring to hope that he would remember me, even as I wished that he would. And he did. Our relationship was able to blossom. I watched as he continued to grow into a wonderful young man. And even though I regret the little amount of time I had with him I am glad that we had any time at all. And as he lives on in our memories, he will watch over us from the afterlife with his parents."

The tears flowed in earnest now, nothing able to stop them. Ron got up next. He stood at the front, looking down into the open casket. It didn't take long before he looked up, facing the small crowd.

"Harry was my first friend. Before Hogwarts, I only had my brothers and sister. But when I entered his compartment as an 11-year-old, I somehow knew that I needed to be in his life. Our friendship started out with him offering to share his lollies as I talked about the wizarding world. That friendship blossomed as we continued through the years, encountering a few terrifying trials that only made our friendship grow even stronger.

"I will always be eternally grateful for Harry being in my life, and that he let me be in his. He was Harry Potter; he could have picked anyone to be his friend. And yet, he picked me. And I will forever thank the fates for that, as the time I spent with him were the best times of my life." Hermione stood next, walking to the front and taking the place Ron had just occupied.

"When I first met Harry, I never thought that we would be friends. I thought he would be stuck up from his fame and want nothing to do with a bookworm, a bossy know-it-all. But then, something happened that brought us together. An event on Halloween of our first year formed a friendship that I wouldn't have thought possible. But, when someone saves you from being killed by a Mountain Troll, a strong friendship will be formed. That first year, as I resented the fact that he almost got himself killed by taking on a fool's quest, I also found myself being pulled into an adventure like I'd only read about in my fantasy books.

"From there, we kept finding ourselves in many different situations that normal people our age would never find themselves in. But something Harry once said has stuck with me and I think about it whenever we find ourselves in one of those places. 'Being simple requires being normal and being normal is boring.' And I will forever be grateful that Harry came into my life, making it anything but boring."

Hermione sat back down, rubbing Ginny's back and nudging her slightly. She took the hint and stood up, slowly making her way up to the front. She looked down at Harry's face. He looked so peaceful, like he was just sleeping. She turned to face the crowd and tried not to break down. She felt the tears falling down her face and didn't try to stop them, instead talking through the tears.

"When I first heard about Harry Potter, I was star struck. And then he saved my life. I couldn't bring myself to even talk in his presence. But Harry had a heart of gold and struck up a conversation with me after noticing I was alone. Throughout my second year, Harry's third, we grew closer. We had a heart to heart once a fortnight because we had both been forced to grow up quicker than we should have and could relate to the worries and nightmare caused by horrific memories.

"And then, he brought up feelings and we ended up together, dating earlier than most would. But it felt so right. During my third year, his fourth, we grew closer and closer with our relationship. When he asked me to the Yule Ball I was overjoyed. And I felt that I was slowly falling in love with him. When he rescued me from the lake for the second task, I knew. I knew that I could trust him with my life, and he confirmed that. But then I lost him. And I know that you all lost him as well. And that losing a son or best friend is just as bad as losing a boyfriend and that it is just as painful for everyone. And I know that together we will get through this loss, no matter how hard it is."

She sat back down in her seat and Fleur wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders in a gesture that was quickly becoming familiar.

"You did well," Fleur whispered in her ear. When no one else stood to speak, Sirius stood again and made his way up to the front to say his last goodbye. One by one everyone went up to say goodbye.

Ginny stood up after Hermione sat back down and moved up to Harry. She looked down upon Harry's face for what she knew would be the last time. She reached down, brushing his hair off his face and bending down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. She ran her fingers along his cheek.

"Bye Harry, I love you. I always will," she whispered. She moved away and sat down. Sirius closed the lid and levitated the coffin. They all walked behind the floating coffin in a single line, following it to the pre-dug hole next to Lily and James Potter's graves. The coffin was placed inside hole. One by one everyone there placed a shovelful of dirt over the coffin. The rest of the dirt was gently levitated into the hole after that, a small mound of dirt now sitting where the hole had been. Sirius and Remus placed a bouquet of flowers at the bottom of the gravestone and Ginny realised that she didn't have anything to leave for Harry.

She read the gravestone from afar, feeling that what was chosen to be engraved on there was extremely fitting.

_Harry James Potter_

_31st July 1980 – 24th June 1995_

_You are always in my head. Once met, never forgotten_

_To live in the hearts of those we love is not to die._

Cedric approached her after laying his own flowers at the bottom of the headstone.

"Ginny, I need to give you something." He pulled a wand out of his pocket, presenting it to her. She gasped and reverently reached out to the wand that Cedric was giving her. It was Harry's. She paused before taking it though.

"Why are you giving it to me?" she asked. She was so grateful to have it but would have thought that Cedric would give it to Sirius.

"Because I saw how you and Harry were together and feel that the wand would want to be with you."

Ginny nodded and grasped the wand. She felt a rush of power flow through her from the hand holding the wand. It was the same feeling she got from holding her own wand. She pocketed the wand somehow knowing that it would work for her just as well as her own.

"Thank you."

"There's one other thing. I need to tell you what the last thing Harry said to me was. After he placed me under the body-bind curse, he said something that you need to know. 'I'm sorry, it's me that they want. Tell Ginny I love her.'" Ginny felt a new wave of tears fall down her face.

"Thank you. So much," she whispered. Cedric smiled before walking away and disappearing. Ginny found her family and they too left the graveyard.


	43. Reading of the Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't know how to write grief or mourning so please let me know if I've gotten anything wrong.

Sirius sat down at the dining table, picking up his mug of coffee like he did every day. Remus was already there, tea in one hand, Daily Prophet in the other. He did his best not to look at Harry's spot, or to imagine that it was the school term and Harry was simply at school.

He looked up from his coffee when an owl pecked at the window. He was stunned to see Hedwig carrying two envelopes. He got up and opened the window, allowing Hedwig to fly in. She landed on the table, dropping both letters from her beak. Sirius sat back down at the table, picking up both letters. One was addressed to him, the other addressed to Remus. He handed Remus his letter, turning his own over in his hands.

"Why would Gringotts be writing to me?"

"Why would they be writing to both of us?" Remus corrected him. Sirius opened the envelope and pulled the crisp letter out. He unfolded it and read through the neat script.

_Dear Lord Sirius Black,_

_We request your presence at Gringotts at 10 o'clock today. Harry Potter has left you a bequest in his will. Failing to show up to the reading of the will at 10 o'clock today will have the claim to what is left to you forfeited._

_Jangrak, Potter and Black Account Manager._

"Reading of the will?" Remus asked, looking up from his own letter to meet Sirius' eyes.

"Apparently. Did you know that Harry had a will?"

"No. When would he have time to write a will. And why would he?" Sirius shrugged in response. They finished their breakfast drinks in silence.

"Well, I guess we should get ready and head to Gringotts soon. It would be better to not be late," Remus suggested, standing up.

"Yeah. I'll meet you in the entrance hall in about 20 minutes." They separated to their own rooms to get ready.

20 minutes later they both stood in the entrance hall, ready to head to Gringotts.

"Ready Moony?" he asked. Remus nodded and they held hands, twisting on the spot and apparating to just outside the Leaky Cauldron.

Together, they headed through the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. They walked quickly and quietly through the alley, not paying attention to anyone or anything around them. They reached Gringotts and made their way to a free goblin, presenting their letters when asked why they were there.

"Ah, follow me to Jangrak's office," the goblin said. They followed the goblin through the hallways to an office that had Jangrak's name on it.

"Here you are Lord Black, Mr Lupin. Jangrak is waiting for you and others."

"Thank you," Sirius said, pushing the office door open. They stepped into the office, sitting down on two of the chairs that were around the office.

"Thank you for coming Lord Black, Mr Lupin. We are still waiting for 7 others." The three of them sat in silence, waiting for the others to arrive. Not long after they had arrived, Hermione walked in, sitting down quietly in a free chair. A few minutes before 10, six Weasleys walked in, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Arthur, and Molly.

"Thank you all for coming today. Now that we are all here, we can get straight down to business," Jangrak said. Sirius watched as he pulled out a piece of parchment, placing it on the desk in front of him.

"I, Harry James Potter, being of sound mind, body and memory, do hereby declare this as my Last Will and Testament on the 20th of December 1994, hereby revoking all prior Wills and Codicils made by me at any time from here onwards.

"Two thousand galleons to Fred and George Weasley, for them to put towards their future career. They have talent and many ideas and should invest in it.

"Two thousand galleons to each Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Thank you for being great friends and I am forever grateful for your support.

"To Sirius Black, I leave half of Potter Manor, along with one thousand galleons, in case he needs them on a rainy day, along with my love and thanks for being a great godfather.

"To Remus Lupin, I leave the other half of Potter Manor, as well as three thousand galleons. I also give him my love and thanks for being such a great teacher, uncle, and guardian.

"To Molly and Arthur Weasley, I leave one thousand five hundred galleons, with thanks for taking me in when you didn't need to and loving me like your own.

"Finally, to Ginny Weasley, I leave a letter and a small gift in the Potter vault, along with my love and the hope that she can find happiness after me." Jangrak pulled out six pouches, handing them to each person as he read what they were left. Sirius opened his pouch, seeing a key for Potter Manor on top of pile of gold coins.

"Why did he create a will?" Remus asked.

"That is an issue between me and my former client. Ms Weasley, if you will follow me, I will take you down to the Potter vault so you can retrieve the letter and gift left to you." Ginny nodded, standing up to follow the goblin who was moving towards the door.

"Wait a moment, why didn't you bring the letter and gift up here?" Molly asked. 

"When Harry created his will, he specified that Ms Weasley must be alone to receive them. It will not take any longer than 20 minutes," Jangrak replied.

Ginny followed Jangrak out, leaving the eight of them sitting in the office. After a while, Hermione broke the silence.

"Did any of you know he had created a will?"

"No, he never mentioned it. The day he created it he simply said that Jangrak needed to speak with him but didn't say what they had discussed," Sirius replied.

"He never mentioned it to us either," Ron said.

"We should get going," Remus murmured, standing up and pulling Sirius to his feet as well.


	44. The Real Will

Ginny sat through the reading of Harry's will, head down and hands in her lap. A small amount of happiness spread through her as she heard why Harry had left what he had to the twins, and his reasoning for leaving what he had to the others as well. But when she heard what was left to her, she was slightly confused. Why would he have left her a letter? And what was the gift? When Jangrak asked her to follow him, she stood instantly to follow him out. But before they left, her mother stopped them.

"Wait a moment, why didn't you bring the letter and gift up here?" Mum asked.

"When Harry created his will, he specified that Ms Weasley must be alone to receive them. It will not take any longer than 20 minutes," Jangrak replied. He left the room and she followed. She followed him through the hallways, soon reaching the carts. She climbed in and the cart took off. As Jangrak steered the cart, he explained why the letter had to be received in private.

"When Harry made his will, he requested to leave everything that wasn't left in the bequests to you as his soul-bonded. However, he did not want anyone to know that you have a soul bond and he said that it was a private matter, and Gringotts understand this and were able to make it work. The letter is his true will and you are not required to tell anyone what was in it. Here we are." Jangrak stepped out of the cart and Ginny followed.

Jangrak placed a key in the door of the vault and the door swung open. Ginny couldn't hold in the gasp as she saw the large amount of gold just sitting inside the vault. She stepped in and looked around. There was a large amount of jewellery in many different boxes as well as piles of books. She found a sealed scroll in the middle of the vault and moved over to it. She stepped forward and grabbed the scroll. As soon as she touched it, it unsealed, unfolding in her hands.

_I, Harry James Potter, being of sound mind, body and memory, do hereby declare this as my Last Will and Testament on the 20th of December 1994, hereby revoking all prior Wills and Codicils made by me at any time from here onwards._

_Two thousand galleons to Fred and George Weasley, for them to put towards their future career. They have talent and many ideas and should invest in it._

_Two thousand galleons to each Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Thank you for being great friends and I am forever grateful for your support._

_To Sirius Black, I leave half of Potter Manor, along with one thousand galleons, in case he needs them on a rainy day, along with my love and thanks for being a great godfather._

_To Remus Lupin, I leave the other half of Potter Manor, as well as three thousand galleons. I also give him my love and thanks for being such a great teacher, uncle, and guardian._

_To Molly and Arthur Weasley, I leave one thousand five hundred galleons, with thanks for taking me in when you didn't need to and loving me like your own._

_Finally, to Ginny Weasley, I leave everything else that hasn't been mentioned, including all my vaults, assets, and properties. Ginny, I love you more than words can say and if you are reading this than I am so sorry for leaving you. You should know that when we formed the connection between our minds, we both legally became adults in the Old Laws and the goblins recognise this. We were recognised as closer than married, so leaving you everything I own isn't a stretch as you already had access to it. I want you to be happy, please move on. At least find love in other places, don't withdraw from your family. Please remember how much I love you, and I'm so sorry. If you ever need to get away from everything, Potter House is always available for you. I love you Gin._

Ginny collapsed to her knees after reading Harry's last message to her. She wanted to cry, but had no tears left. She pulled herself together and turned to face Jangrak, who was standing in the doorway.

"Is this true? Am I recognised as an adult?"

"Yes, it is. I'm sorry for not informing you of it sooner, but we believed that your soul-bonded would have."

"He said you recognised us as closer than married. What does that mean?"

"It means that even without him leaving you everything he owned, you would have had access to all the vaults he owned. Additionally, since he claimed his Lordships, you are eligible to claim the accompanying Ladyships."

"Which ones?"

"You are able to become Lady to the houses of Potter, Gryffindor and Peverell."

"Are we able to do that now?"

"We are. The Ladyship rings were placed in here after Harry claimed his Lordships." Jangrak moved into the vault and picked up a rectangular box. He opened it and Ginny saw six rings sitting inside.

"These are the Lord and Lady rings for each house that Harry is Lord of. The Lord rings are here as he decided not to wear them, which is a choice you will have as well. Would you like to claim them?"

"Yes please."

"You simply need to put each ring on and then say, 'I, {insert name}, claim the Ladyships of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Potter, the Noble and Most Ancient Imperial house of Gryffindor and the Noble and Most Ancient Presidential house of Peverell. So mote be it.' The rings also have a glamour charm on them for if you wish to wear them but not have their purpose known, or you can leave them in here until a later date. The ones you want are the slimmer ones."

Ginny moved forward and picked up the three slimmer rings, each about half the thickness of their pair. She slipped each ring onto her right hand. The Potter ring went on her ring finger, the Gryffindor ring on her middle finger and the Peverell ring on her pointer finger. The rings were slightly too large for her, probably because they were meant for a grown woman, rather than a thirteen-year-old.

"I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, claim the Ladyships of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Potter, the Noble and Most Ancient Imperial house of Gryffindor and the Noble and Most Ancient Presidential house of Peverell. So mote be it." She felt a rush of magic around her before the rings resized to fit her fingers more snugly. She didn't take them off, liking the feeling of the rings on her fingers. They helped her feel more connected to Harry.

"How do I make them look like normal rings?"

"You simply have to think of the house crest disappearing." Ginny did as Jangrak instructed and the house crests seemed to melt away into the rings. She smiled.

"What does being the Lady of a house entail?"

"You are able to claim the house seats on the Wizengamot should you wish to. While you are in school, you are required to have a proxy sit in for you, so that you don't miss class should the Wizengamot fall during a school day. However, since no one knew that Harry claimed his Lordship, this isn't required, and you can claim them at any time. There are also benefits of being Lady Gryffindor while at Hogwarts, however, I don't know what those are as we haven't seen anyone claim a Founder's heirship or Lordship in hundreds of years. You will need a working will, but you are able to come back and do that later in the summer as I realise that you're expected back up soon. Also, I can remove the trace from your wand. As we recognise you as of age, you can do magic outside school and as a Lady of three houses, you need to be able to protect yourself." Ginny nodded and Jangrak clicked his fingers. A warm, golden glow surrounded Ginny for a second before disappearing.

"There you go." 

"Thank you Jangrak. Do you know where the key for Potter House is?" Jangrak nodded, pointing towards a large keyring hanging on the back wall.

"That keyring has a key to every property that the Potter family owns. The Peverell and Gryffindor families don't own any properties as they have either been sold or are claimed by other family descendants." Ginny moved forward and grabbed the keyring, pocketing it.

"Thank you Jangrak. I'm done in here." Jangrak nodded and they moved back into the cart.

Soon enough, they arrived back in the foyer of Gringotts and found the rest of her family waiting for them. Jangrak gave her a small bow and walked away, leaving her to greet her family.

"Oh Ginny, you're back. I know Jangrak said you'd take a while, but I couldn't help but worry. Did you find the letter?" Ginny smiled into her mum's hug, glad that her mum still worried about her.

"Yeah. It actually helped to read something from him. Can we head home?"

"That's a good idea. Come on boys," her mum said, turning around and walking out of the building. Ron walked beside her while Fred and George walked a little way behind their parents.

"What did Harry's letter say?" Ron asked quietly. Ginny shrugged, not wanting to tell.

"It must have been good," Fred said, moving up to walk beside her rather than behind.

"Yeah, you're smiling. You haven't smiled since we lost him," George agreed, appearing next to Ron.

"Yeah. It was good." She smiled again, glancing down at her right hand and her new rings. Fred must have seen where her eyes went as he glanced down at her hand as well.

"Where'd you get the rings?"

"Huh?"

"The new rings on your right hand. You never wear rings."

"Oh, just something from Harry." She brought her left hand over to her right hand, idly twisting the Potter ring around her finger. She had a feeling she would be doing that a lot now.


	45. Magic

As soon as they arrived back at their house, Ginny headed up to her room. She closed the door behind her and locked it. She withdrew Harry's wand from her bedside cabinet, twirling it in her fingers. A warm feeling flowed through her, just like it did when she held her wand. As an experiment, she pointed the wand at a book beside her bed.

"Wingardium Leviosa." She flicked her wrist and the book moved into the air. Using Harry's wand felt as natural as using hers. She placed Harry's wand on her bed, picking her own wand up. She performed the same spell, the book lifting into the air again. She thought for a moment, before picking Harry's wand up in her right hand, holding her wand in her left. She pointed her wand at the book and Harry's at a shirt on the floor.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Both the shirt and the book lifted into the air. She moved her left hand slightly, causing the shirt to float higher, while the book stayed at the same level. Ginny smiled, feeling her magic flowing through both her arms and out of the wands. She could feel her magic almost pulsing around her, stronger than it had been before. She placed both her wands in her pocket and unlocked her door.

She snuck up the stairs and into Ron's room, grabbing his fourth-year charms and transfiguration books. With the books in her arms, she snuck out of her brother's room and headed back down the stairs to her room. Once inside, she closed and locked the door again. She then jumped onto her bed and started to read through the books, wanting to learn more, wanting to see how many different spells she could do with two wands, wanting to use the magic all around her.

When she was called downstairs for dinner later that day, she marked her place in the book and placed both wands in her pocket. The weight of both wands comforted her, and she walked downstairs, a smile playing on her lips. She slipped into her seat at the table between two of her brothers.

While reaching for the rolls, her hand brushed against Fred's. She immediately pulled it back, expecting pain to erupt from her hand. However, her magic pulsed slightly, but no pain came.

"Are you ok dear?" her mum asked, having noticed how quickly she retracted her hand. Ginny stared at her hand for a moment, before looking up at her mum.

"Fine mum. Better than fine actually. Pass the rolls Ron." Ron passed her the rolls and she deliberately let their hands clash as she took the dish. Again, her magic stirred around her, pulsing slightly, but no pain came. She smiled throughout the rest of the meal, happy that she could touch males again.

The next day, Ginny again locked herself in her room and read through the fourth-year textbooks, practicing the new spells with both wands. As she practiced, she could feel her magic flowing around her. Her sensitivity to magic had been increasing as she got closer to Harry and had grown even more after connecting with Harry's wand. She could feel her magic pulsing around her, flowing through her body and in the air around her.

She was trying to get a hand of the summoning charm when her mum knocked on her door. She quickly hid her wands in her pocket and moved to the door, unlocking it, and letting her mum in.

"Hey mum, did you want something?" she asked, moving back to her bed, and placing the book on her lap.

"I wanted to let you know that we are going to be spending the rest of the holidays at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Why?"

"Well, your father, Bill and I are all part of the Order and it will be easier for us if we all live at the Headquarters. Also, it would be good for Sirius and Remus, who are living at Headquarters as well."

"Where's Headquarters?" Her mum handed her a small slip of paper with slim, slanted writing on it.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld Place._

She looked at her mum in question, wondering why she couldn't have just said that.

"Grimmauld Place is under the Fidelius Charm, with Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper. Sirius offered Grimmauld Place as the Headquarters as it was his family home. He and Remus are going to be living there for a while because they don't want to live at Potter Manor without Harry yet." Ginny nodded in understanding.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. We'll be staying for the rest of the summer so pack your stuff for school as well." Ginny nodded again and her mum left.

She grabbed a fifth-year charms book that she had taken from the twin's room after dinner the night before. She flipped through the pages, looking for a packing charm. She found it in the middle of the book and found the one she had seen her mum use to pack things around the house a lot. She pulled her wands out of her pocket hand gestured around the room.

"Pack." Some of the books from her bedside table flew into her open trunk, while a few pairs of clothes flew out of her closet. She looked down at her partially packed trunk and waved both wands again, performing the charm again and again until her trunk was fully packed. All her things that she needed for school were packed, as well as anything that she would want for the rest of the holidays. She closed the lid of her trunk with a wave of Harry's wand and sat back down with the fourth-year charms book, going back to her work on the summoning charm. She was struggling to master it, memories of Harry using it in the Tournament coming back whenever she tried doing it with his wand.

The next day, she dragged her trunk down the stairs behind her, wishing she could simply levitate it, but she didn't want questions asked. Fred and George were already waiting with their trunks, while their mum bustled around the kitchen. Ron came trudging down the stairs a few minutes later, dragging his trunk behind him.

"Are we ready? The portkey is on the table," their dad said, a few bags floating into the room behind them.

"Where's Percy?" Ron asked, grabbing the portkey, and moving back to his trunk. Ginny saw her mum's lips purse and tears fill her eyes slightly.

"He's not coming with us. He's bought his own flat in London," her dad said. Ginny noticed that his hands had clenched slightly, and his voice was tight. Nobody commented, instead grabbing their bags or trunks and all grabbing the portkey. Bill was the last to grab the portkey and as soon as he had a firm grip on it, their dad said the activation word and they were all pulled out of the Burrow.

They all landed with a thud in a deserted alleyway, trunks thudding down around them. Fred, George, Bill, and their parents levitated their bags and trunks behind them, while Ginny and Ron had to simply pull their trunks behind them. Ginny wished she could levitate hers like the other of age people, but she didn't want people to know she was of age. That was her secret. Plus it would be too hard to explain.

They walked out onto the street and stood facing the row of houses. As they watched, the houses 11 and 13 slowly moved apart and another house seemed to grow between them. The house with a 12 on it finished growing and they walked up the steps towards the house. Ginny shivered slightly as she felt the brush of magic as they walked through the wards. Their mum knocked on the door and pretty soon the door opened, and they all walked inside. Sirius waved them in and immediately led them through to the kitchen.

"Welcome to my family home," Sirius said, sitting down next to Remus at the table.

"It's ... lovely," her mum said hesitantly.

"It's ok, you can say it's dull. Or any other word you want to describe it. My parents didn't like many happy things. If you need anything, you can call Kreacher. Or don't. He's not that helpful, so I wouldn't advise calling him. He's really old and doesn't appreciate me using the family house."

"Also, make sure to keep your voice down in the hall. There's a portrait that takes delight in screaming as loudly as she can if she's woken and we can't remove it," Remus added.

"Are we able to find our rooms?" Bill asked.

"I'll show you to them now," Sirius agreed. He stood up and led them out into the hall and up the stairs.

"Molly, Arthur, that's your room. Bill, yours is there." Sirius pointed to the two doors on the first floor. "Mine and Remus' is just down the hallway, it has my name on it." Bill and her parents placed their bags in their designated rooms before they all followed Sirius up to the second floor.

"Ron, your room is there, Ginny, yours is opposite. Fred and George, your room is down the hall." They all split up and moved into their allotted rooms, placing their trunks inside. Ginny placed her trunk down at the end of one of the beds. She opened the trunk and pulled out the school books, placing them on the nightstand next to her bed. She exited her room to find Sirius, Bill and her parents waiting for them.

"Why's there a second bed in my room?" she asked, closing the door.

"Hermione will be joining us in a few days and will be sharing a room with you. I hope that's ok," Sirius replied. Ginny nodded. She didn't mind sharing with the other girl, as long as she didn't try to get her to talk about Harry; she was nowhere near ready for that. Ron came out of his room and Fred and George appeared not long after.

"Let's continue the tour," Sirius declared. He led them up the stairs to the third floor. There was a large library there along with an office. On the fourth floor there was a room with a few musical instruments. There was also a duelling room and a potions lab. After the tour, Ginny moved back to her room.

She locked the door and began practicing her magic again. She finally managed to do the summoning charm with both wands at once before moving on to the banishing charm. She spent the rest of the day practicing that. She managed to get it down pat with one wand at a time by dinner time, when her mum called her and her brothers from the hall.   
A house elf that Sirius addressed as Kreacher served them dinner but paused in his actions when he caught sight of her. He stared at her, seeming to forget what he was doing in lieu of observing her.

"Kreacher," Sirius snapped. Kreacher turned to face Sirius, eyes flicking back to look at her every now and then.

"Yes Master?"

"Why are you observing Ginny like that?"

"Just looking Master."

"At what Kreacher," Sirius demanded. Kreacher grumbled under his breath about blood traitors before answering Sirius.

"Her magic Master." That was when Ginny remembered something that Harry had mentioned. After Fleur had said she could see their bond, being part Veela, Harry had remembered which creatures could see life bonds. Veela, goblins, centaurs, and house elves. They were able to see the difference in the magic of people with soul bonds.  
"What about her magic Kreacher," her mum asked. She could hear the scepticism in her voice and knew she was going to stress about her, depending on Kreacher's answer. Kreacher didn't reply until Sirius asked the same question.

"It is ... different."

"What's different about it?"

"Broken. Healed. Different," Kreacher replied. By now, everyone was looking at her and she felt extremely uncomfortable. Kreacher obviously decided now was a good time to leave and start cleaning the kitchen. She looked down at her meal and continued to eat while everyone stared at her. She eventually felt the stares leave her, even if they kept looking up at her during the meal.

When she escaped back to her room, she locked the door behind her and called Kreacher to her.

"How can Kreacher help?"

"How is my magic broken and healed?"

"You lost your bonded, breaking your magic. It's still broken, but healed again, stable and able to be used," Kreacher explained. Ginny nodded understanding what he was saying.

"Please don't tell anyone about my soul bond," she requested.

"Of course, young mistress. House elves are bound to serve anyone touched by Lady Magic in such a way, even if we are bonded to someone."

"Thank you Kreacher." With that, Kreacher popped out of her room. 


	46. Changes

For the rest of the week, Ginny fell into a rhythm. She'd read a new chapter of one of the textbooks before breakfast. Between breakfast and lunch, she would practice the spell in that chapter with her wand. After lunch she'd learn it with Harry's wand and her right hand. The wand movements with her right hand were harder, considering it wasn't her dominate hand, and she had decided that each wand would have a designated hand. After dinner she would take the work from the day and do her best to perform the spells with both wands at once.

At the end of the third week of the holidays, Ginny gained a roommate. Hermione had come over to help with everything that was going on. The only problem was that she had to come up with a new routine for each day. When Hermione left their room to greet Ron, she called Kreacher.

"How can Kreacher be helping young mistress?" he asked with a polite bow. His attitude to her was drastically different than it was to everyone else. He hated Sirius and basically everyone else in the house, except for her. He treated her with a lot of respect, and he had said he actually liked helping her. But she had made sure that he didn't act like that around other people because she didn't want any questions.

"Is there any spare room that I can use to practice. I need to be able to have privacy and not have anyone be able to find me there," she asked.

"Yes mistress. You could use the attic. It is locked other than people that Kreacher lets in. It is full of unused things however."

"That should work, Kreacher. Could you show me where the entrance is?"

"Kreacher can mistress. Follow Kreacher." Ginny followed Kreacher up the stairs. On the landing of the fourth floor, there was a trapdoor on the ceiling between the doors of the library and the office. Kreacher clicked his fingers and the trapdoor opened, a set of fold down steps coming from the hole.

"Up there, mistress. You simply need to tap the place the steps end with your wand and the door will open. Once up there, tapping the trapdoor with your wand will open it. The same will close it again," Kreacher explained.

"Thank you Kreacher." Ginny climbed up the steps and found herself in a spacious room. There were boxes around the edges of the room, a dusty window on the opposite side of the room to the trapdoor. She climbed back down the steps and tapped the bottom step, causing them to retract into the roof.

"That will work well Kreacher."

Her daily routine changed slightly to take two days so she could accommodate the new people in the house. She would read before breakfast and then spend the time between breakfast and lunch practicing with her left hand and her first wand. The next day she would wake up a bit earlier and practice with her right hand and Harry's wand before breakfast. Between breakfast and lunch, she would then work on the spell with both wands at once. And repeat with a new spell the next day. She would then spend the time between lunch and dinner with Ron and Hermione, just hanging around and acting their age. And getting their holiday homework done.

Hermione and Ron were annoyed that they weren't being including in the Order meetings; Fred and George had similar feelings. She didn't care though. Mainly because Harry had been involved too young and he wasn't here anymore. They spent many hours complaining about not being included in meetings.

Ginny sometimes felt like yelling at them, telling them that they didn't want to get involved. Because they didn't know the dangers of getting into things too young. Because they had a choice to not get involved yet, a choice Harry didn't have. She somehow managed to keep her temper though, not telling them everything on her mind. And not jinxing them either. Her magic did lash out, whirling around her, responding to her emotions. But no harm was done, and no one actually noticed her magic's reaction. So, it was fine.

Things changed on the 31st of July though. She woke up, knowing that it was Harry's birthday. Knowing that it would be a hard day. But then she looked out of the window while getting dressed and couldn't stop the tears from coming. She could see wards surrounding the house.

Hermione came back into the room a while later to find her crying on the bed. She knew she had missed breakfast, but she couldn't bring herself to get up. Everything was just too overwhelming for her. Her bond with Harry was broken, gone. But she had just developed one of his unique abilities.

She felt her bed dip as Hermione sat down next to her. She didn't react. She felt Hermione put her hand on her back, rubbing it slightly.

"Hey Ginny, it's ok. I know it's hard, but it's going to be ok." Ginny lifted herself up onto her elbows, turning her head slightly to look at Hermione.

"It's not what you're thinking Hermione."

"Hey, it's a tough day for all of us. We're all here for you. We're all going through the same thing." Ginny shook her head. She wasn't sad about Harry. Well, she was, she never stopped missing him or being sad about what happened. But that wasn't her prominent emotion now. She rolled over, sitting up next to Hermione.

"It's not that Hermione. I mean, yes, I miss him, so so much, and today just brings it to the surface more. But that's not what this is about." She looked down at her lap, unable to bring herself to look at Hermione. She was thankful that there wasn't any magical traces left in the room because she didn't think she could deal with more reminders about this.

"I want to help you Ginny. We all want to help you. We were all worried when you didn't show up to breakfast. But I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." Ginny sighed. She wanted to tell someone, to have someone understand, even if it was only slightly.

"You can't … you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Harry and I … we agreed to keep this a secret," she began, still looking at her hands. She felt Hermione move from next to her. Hermione knelt in front of her, holding her hands gently.

"I won't say anything you don't want me to say. I promise," Hermione said softly. Ginny withdrew her right hand, pulling out Harry's wand. She pointed it at the door, saying a charm she had recently learnt, causing the door to swing shut and lock.

"Ginny. You know you're not allowed to use magic," Hermione reprimanded. Ginny didn't answer, instead allowing the glamours on her rings to disappear. She looked down at her hands, her right hand sitting on top of her left, rings on display. She smiled at the rings, the house crests visible. Hermione looked down as well and gasped.

"Are those Ladyship rings?"

"Yeah." Ginny looked up slightly, so she was looking straight at Hermione. She was able to clearly see the confusion on her face.

"But you're still 13."

"I know. It's a little confusing. I'm an adult in the eyes of the Old Laws, which are the laws that the goblins follow, and the laws that include Lord and Ladyships. And these are the accompanying Ladyships for Harry's Lordships." She saw Hermione open her mouth again and she squeezed her hands slightly.

"Let me explain?" Hermione nodded and Ginny gestured to the bed opposite hers. Hermione took the hint, sitting on her bed, facing Ginny. She took a deep breath before explaining everything.

"At the during my second year, Harry's third, we admitted feelings for each other and started dating. We kept it a secret because we knew that most people would think we were too young. We kissed on the second last day of term and that's when our bond snapped into place. Over the summer holidays, we searched for what our bond was. Harry was the one to find it, considering his library was much larger than the few books that I had access to. We had a soul bond.

"Harry was able to see the soul bond magic, a golden rope of magic with a pink glow that connected us. That's how he was able to work out that it was a soul bond rather than a different bond, such as a life debt, which is a thin, light blue bond. A soul bond is a life bond and is present from the moment you're born. It snaps into place when attraction between both people is confirmed, in this case, when we kissed for the first time.

"Soul bonds are extremely rare now, having one every hundred years, rather than a few each generation. It's basically true love in reality, we were destined for each other. Soul bonds are one large, powerful soul split into two bodies. Apart, we are whole and fine. But together, we are immensely powerful.

"The bond allowed us to be able to feel roughly where the other person was, as well as to feel what they were feeling. When we were in an extremely stressful situation where I desperately wanted to contact him, we made our bond the strongest it could be. We developed a connection between our minds, allowing us to mentally talk to each other.

"Reaching this stage in the bond was the same as getting married in the view of the Old Laws. We aren't technically married; our connection is deeper than that. But, due to this connection being reached, we are both considered adults. Over the Christmas break, Harry went to Gringotts and found all of that out from Jangrak, his account manager. Because he was technically of age, he was able to claim his Lordships. He didn't want to wear the Lordship rings though and left them in the Potter vault.

"Because he had claimed his Lordships, he had to have a working will. That's why he had a will. And as his soul-bonded, he was able to leave everything he owned to me. That's what the letter and the gift were. The letter was his real will, leaving everything he owned to me and the gift was my Ladyship rings. Despite my legal age, I was eligible to claim the accompanying Ladyships.

"When Harry died, our bond was ripped apart. I saw through his eyes for the first time ever, just in time to watch him die. The bond was ripped apart, tearing everything to pieces and my magic, mind and body had to adjust. That's why I went into a coma. My magic had to adjust. I've adjusted fully now but, everything had changed." Hermione stared at her for a while before nodding slowly.

"I think I got all of that. But you didn't tell me why you were crying today." Ginny smiled sadly.

"Some soul bonds allow the partners to share unique abilities with the other. I thought that because Harry died, the bond was basically gone. I thought the bond was back to how it was before we activated it." She looked back down to her hands, fiddling with her Potter ring.

"But this morning, I could see magic traces. Just like Harry could."


	47. Potter House

Ginny looked up from her hands when Hermione didn't respond. Hermione was just starring at her, not even blinking. She shook her head, blinking rapidly.

"Do you have any idea what that means?" Hermione asked.

"No. The information we found was from all the books about it in the Potter Manor library and we were lucky to find that much. Soul bonds are extremely private and very rare, meaning there isn't much information on them."

"How can I help?"

"I ... I want to go to a house that Harry left for me. I think being in one of his houses might help. Being here ... around everyone ... I don't think it would help."

"Where are you going to go?" Ginny smiled at the concern in Hermione's voice.

"I'll go to Potter House. Harry told me it would always be open for me." She paused, thinking. "Would you be able to cause a distraction so I can floo there without anyone noticing I'm gone. And help cover for me?"

"Of course," Hermione said almost instantly. Ginny stood, hugging Hermione tightly.

"Thank you," she said. She pulled away and Hermione smiled at her.

"One more thing. That wand you used. It looked like Harry's."

"It was."

"How? Didn't Harry's wand bond with him completely?" Hermione asked. Ginny shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I would guess that it bonded with his soul, something that I also bonded with. Plus, our magic was bonded slightly as well. I don't actually know, but that's my guess." Hermione seemed to contemplate that for a minute before pushing it to the back of her mind and grabbing her hand.

"Come on, you should eat something." Hermione pulled her out of the room and down the stairs. She followed the older girl, not that she had much choice. As they entered the hallway, she blinked, and tried not to allow tears to form. The portraits all around the hall glowed faintly, reminding her that she had gained something from Harry.

Hermione didn't linger in the hall, instead continuing to drag her along and into the kitchen. She sat down together at the end of the table. Sirius and Remus were sitting at the other end of the table. Remus was leaning on Sirius and they both had tears slowly falling down their faces. Hermione didn't sit, instead heading into the kitchen to get something for her to eat. Hermine soon came back, carrying a goblet of pumpkin juice and a plate of toast. She sat down next to her, placing the goblet and plate in front of her.

"Eat," Hermione whispered, nudging her. She sighed but did as she was told. She slowly ate the toast, occasionally sipping her drink.

"When I leave, I'll disillusion myself. Would you be able to cause the distraction then. Something loud so that no one will hear the floo?" Hermione nodded. She soon finished the few pieces of toast that Hermione had brought and stood. She began to head out of the room when the doorbell rang. Mrs. Black started screaming and both Sirius and Remus stood, hurrying into the hallway. She glanced at Hermione, shrugging.

"Kreacher," she called. Kreacher popped in front of her immediately.

"How can Kreacher help young mistress?"

"Where's the floo powder?" she asked. Kreacher popped away, quickly appearing again with a small container.

"Here you are young mistress. The container has enough for two travels." Ginny took the container, moving towards the fireplace. She did her best to ignore the faint glow coming from it, knowing she had to hurry so she could disappear while everyone was still busy with the screaming portrait.

"Thank you Kreacher. I'll be back later Hermione." She threw a pinch of floo powder into the fire, stepping in.

"Potter House," she called, before being whisked away. She stumbled out of the fireplace a few seconds later. She looked around, noticing that she had flooed into a living room. She took a step into the room and a pop sounded. A house elf appeared in front of her, wearing the same pillowcase uniform that Mimi, Atta and Fergo wore.

"Mistress Potter has arrived. How may Bonky help Mistress Potter?" the house elf asked. Ginny blinked for a second, processing what had happened.

"Please, call me Ginny. Are you the only house elf here?"

"Bonky couldn't call Mistress simply Ginny. And yes Mistress, Bonky is the only house elf. The house isn't big enough to need more than one," Bonky replied. Ginny sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to convince Bonky to call her Ginny. Kreacher wouldn't relent either.

"How long has the house been deserted?"

"Nobody has lived in Potter House for at least 40 years. Mistress Euphemia, Master Fleamont and Master James only visited for holidays, preferring to live at Potter Manor. But Bonky has kept everything clean and ready for people to live here."

"Is there a library here Bonky?"

"Oh yes. It is not very big, Mistress, but there is one. Would Mistress like Bonky to take Mistress Ginny there?"

"That would be helpful Bonky. Thank you." Ginny followed Bonky out of the living room and up to the second floor.

There, Bonky showed her to the library. It was a nice size, nowhere near as big as the one at Potter Manor, but still holding a large number of books. She thanked Bonky, before moving into the middle of the room. She pulled out both wands, pointing one to either side.

"Accio soul bond books." One book flew off the shelf and gently flew towards her. She placed the wands back in her pocket and grabbed the book as it neared her. She then sank into the nearest chair and started to read.

Just like she thought, being here helped. She didn't have to see everyone moping around, mourning Harry. But the book was also what she was expecting. It was all the information they already knew, just written by a different person in different words. Nothing new. Placing the book back on the shelf it had come from, she left the library.

She wandered around the halls, just thinking. She still started sometimes when she saw came across magical traces. It would definitely take some getting used to. She eventually found herself back in the living room. She sat on one of the couches and pulled out her wands. She practiced many of the spells she had learnt so far. In two and a half weeks, she had learnt the summoning charm, banishing charm, the severing charm, packing charm, disillusionment charm, leg locker curse, a slowing charm, silencing charm, colour changing spell, vanishing spell and flower summoning charm. Bonky popped in as she was revising the colour changing charm. She had been able to make it work on inanimate objects, but not animate objects or herself.

"Would Mistress be liking lunch?" Ginny glanced at the clock above the fireplace, finding it to be 12:30 already.

"Yes, please Bonky. Just some sandwiches." Bonky nodded, popping away. About ten minutes later, a plate of sandwiches appeared on a table next to the couch. She put both wands back in her pocket, thinking that a wand holster would be useful. Harry had had one and told her it made finding his wand a lot easier. She finished the sandwiches and stood up, having made a decision.

"Bonky." Bonky appeared in front of her.

"How can Bonky help?"

"Is there any floo powder here?" she asked. Bonky nodded, pointing to the fireplace. She saw an ornamental vase sitting above the fireplace.

"Thank you Bonky. I'll be back later." She took a pinch of floo powder and threw it in the fireplace. She stepped in and called out her destination. A few seconds later, she stepped out at the Leaky Cauldron.

She made her way into Diagon Alley and headed to Gringotts. She wanted to get two wand holsters, but first would need to get some money. She walked in and stepped up to a free goblin.

"I'd like to visit the Potter Vault," she requested.

"Identification?" the goblin asked. She held up her right hand and allowed the Potter Ladyship ring to reveal its crest. The Potter Vault, being a vault of a Noble and Most Ancient house, didn't have a key, instead requiring a goblin to open the door.

"Follow me." Soon, she was stepping out of the cart and into the Potter vault. She found a small money pouch in the vault and placed two handfuls of galleons in. She placed the pouch in her pocket. She looked around the vault, seeing if there was anything else that she would need from the vault. She didn't find anything, so stepped out of the vault and back into the cart. One cart ride later, and a visit to Jangrak to make and go over her new will, she stepped back into Diagon Alley.

She made her way straight to Olivanders. After all, it wasn't only a place to buy wands, but also a place to buy all wand accessories. The bell tinkled as she walked through the door. No one was inside and her sight was filled with soft glows from the shelves all around the shop.

"Miss Weasley, how may I help you today?" Olivander emerged from the shadows of the shelves.

"I'm in need of two wand holsters," she requested.

"Two?" Olivander asked.

"Yes. One for myself and one for a friend as a gift." She didn't want to tell anyone that two wands were bonded to her as that was extremely rare and no one ever used two wands.

"I see. What specifications are you looking for?"

"Both of them duelling holsters. One for the right arm, one for the left." Olivander nodded and disappeared into the shadows, emerging a minute or so later. He held two boxes that he passed to her. She opened them and found two wand holsters, exactly the same as Harry's had been. One was a mirror of the other. She nodded and closed the boxes again.

"Thank you. How much?"

"20 galleons." Ginny took the money pouch from her pocket and counted out 20 galleons, handing them over to the man in front of her. Olivander nodded and she left, boxes held tightly in her hands.

She headed back to the Leaky Cauldron and took a seat at a spare table. She unpacked both wand holsters and secured them to her forearms. She pulled both wands from her pocket, placing them in the wand holster. Her old wand on her left arm, new wand on her right. Glad that her wands were now safe on her arms, she stood up again.

She headed to the fireplace and took the remaining floo powder from the box that Kreacher had given her. She stepped into the floo and was whisked away, back to Potter House.

"Welcome back Mistress. A message came for Mistress while you were gone."

"Thank you Bonky. Who's the message from?" She moved away from the fireplace and sat down on the couch.

"Kreacher bes delivering the message to Bonky Mistress, saying it was from Hermione." Bonky held out a slip of paper with Hermione's neat writing on it.

_Call Kreacher when you're ready to come back. He will bring you back without anyone seeing you. That way no one will know you left._

Ginny smiled. Hermione was very smart, she hadn't even thought about how she would get back without rousing suspicion. She looked at the clock above the fireplace. It was 3 o'clock. She figured she should probably get back. Her mum would be worried that she had missed lunch. She made up her mind and turned back to Bonky, who was still waiting to see what she needed.

"Thank you Bonky. I'm going to leave now. I'm not sure when I'll be able to come back again but thank you for your help today."

"It is Bonky's pleasure to help Mistress Ginny. Bonky will keep the house clean until Mistress Ginny returns." Bonky curtseyed before popping away.

"Kreacher," she called. Kreacher popping into the room in front of her.

"Yes, young mistress."

"Would you be able to take me back. Into the attic?" Kreacher nodded and took her hand. They popped out of Potter house, landing in the attic of Grimmauld Place.

Kreacher let go of her hand and popped out of the attic. Ginny flicked her left hand, catching her old wand as it sprung out of the holster. She tapped the square of floor that turned into stairs and watched as the hole opened, the fold up steps descending down to the landing. She climbed down the steps as she did every time she went up there. She turned around and tapped the bottom step, watching it fold back up to the ceiling.

She placed her wand back in its holster and headed down the stairs and back to her room. She entered the room she shared with Hermione, finding the other girl reading on her bed.

"Hey Hermione." Hermione looked up from her book, turning to face her.

"Hi Ginny. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Going there really helped. How are you?"

"Good. It's hard, but he wouldn't want us to spend his special day crying. I mainly stayed up here and got Kreacher to bring me lunch." Ginny headed over to her bed and sat down. She flicked her right wrist and used her new wand to summon the book she had been reading. She lay down, opening her book as Hermione turned back to her own book.

Two hours later, Fred and George apparated into their room.

"Must you apparate everywhere?" she asked, not even looking up from her book, being used to the random cracks of apparition.

"Time is money, little sis," Fred replied.

"Mum told us to get you for dinner," George added.

"She's already worried that you were late for breakfast and didn't come down for lunch." They both apparated away with another loud crack. Ginny marked her spot in the book she was reading, setting it on her bedside table. She stood up and saw Hermione doing the same.

"We should probably head down," Hermione suggested.

"Yeah, probably."

Together they headed out of their room, meeting Ron on the stairs. They all entered the kitchen together. Ginny sat down opposite Remus and Sirius, who both still seemed exhausted and pained, full of grief. They both looked up as she sat down.

"Hey Ginny. How are you holding up?" Remus asked. Sirius looked down again, head leaning against his partner's shoulder.

"Good enough, I guess. I found a way to deal with it though. How about you. It must be hard."

"Yeah. Siri's been hit harder than I have, he was closer to him. Today will be harder than most days for a while," Remus replied. Ginny smiled sadly. She couldn't imagine how they were fairing, how they were feeling. Harry's birthday would always be hard for her, but it would probably be harder for them. They had lost their son.


	48. Lady Gryffindor

Ginny looked up at the staff table, trying to work out where Remus was. He had said he would come back to teach this year, but the chair for the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was empty. She looked back down at her plate, not wanting to look around the hall. Being back here brought up so many memories of her time with Harry.

Hermione and Ron were sitting a little way down from here, with the others in their year. Fred and George were sitting with their friends as well. There was empty space around her, but not enough that a first year would try to sit next to her. She just wanted to be alone while trying not to succumb to the memories.

She heard the doors leading into out of the hall open, the doors clanging shut again. She tuned out as she heard the sorting hat begin to sing its yearly song. She didn't pay attention to the sorting, simply clapping whenever the people around her clapped. She didn't hear what Dumbledore said. She was simply to busy trying to keep the memories at bay.

She came back to the present, blinking, when someone moved next to her. She shook her head and realised that it was Hermione. Hermione nudged her arm slightly, gesturing at the food that had appeared in front of her. She shook her head.

"Ginny, you need to eat. I know it's hard being back, but he would want you to look after yourself," Hermione said softly. She sighed but knew Hermione was right. She reached forward, ladling a small amount of food onto her plate, slowly beginning to eat. Hermione seemed satisfied and moved back down the table to where she had been sitting earlier.

Dumbledore finally got to his feet. She managed to focus on what he was saying this time.

"Welcome back everyone. Now, I would like to let the first years know that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to students, and a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, among other things, the full list can be found on Mr Filch's office door.

"We have a few changes in staff this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking over the position of Care of Magical Creatures. Likewise, Professor Lupin has returned from his year break to once again teach the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. I would also like to welcome Professor Umbridge, who is here to oversee the classes and make sure they are up to the proper standard." She looked up to see Remus was indeed now sitting at the staff table, next to a woman who was wearing all pink. The hall filled with applause when Remus was announced.

"Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-" he continued, before breaking off. He looked over at the woman wearing pink, Professor Umbridge, who had apparently gotten to her feet.

"Thank you for that warm welcome Professor Dumbledore. The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down with the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. Then again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practises that ought to be prohibited." Ginny tried not to zone out, knowing that if she worked for the ministry, she would be bad news. Her speech confirmed that. When she sat down, only Dumbledore clapped.

"Thank you for those enlightening words, Professor Umbridge. Now, as I was saying." Ginny zoned out again, not caring about what he was saying. It was always the same thing.

She was pulled back to her surroundings by the clattering of people getting to their feet around her. She waited for most people to leave, before standing as well. She slowly made her way back to the common room, stopping at certain places on her way back, remembering the times spent there with Harry.

She eventually reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. She didn't know the password, having forgotten to ask Ron or Hermione, who were the new prefects, what it was. A warm presence appeared in her head, somehow telling her what to do. The presence reminded her slightly of Harry, and how his presence had always been there, even when they weren't talking. She raised her right hand, placing it next to the portrait. She allowed the Gryffindor crest to appear on her ring.

"Welcome back, Lady Gryffindor," the Fat Lady said with a slight curtsey, before swinging open and allowing her into the common room. She glamoured the Gryffindor crest again before walking in and heading straight up the girl's stairs and into the dormitory. She got changed quickly and collapsed onto her bed, allowing sleep to overtake her, praying that her dreams wouldn't be overtaken with memories.


	49. Umbitch

The first two weeks of term passed quickly. Ginny was finding Charms and Transfiguration easy, considering she had already been practicing the spells they were learning. Remus was a great teacher, but that wasn't a surprise. All her classes were going fine. Until Professor Umbridge inspected her class.

It was the first class of the third week, DADA. She sat in the front row and placed her bag at her feet. She looked up, only to see Professor Umbridge standing behind the teachers desk. Remus entered a minute before the bell rang and Umbridge immediately started writing on her clipboard.

"Good morning class. Today we are going to be looking at the shield charm. If you could all get your textbooks out and read the information on shield charms." Ginny pulled her book out and found the pages on shield charms. Ten minutes later, Professor Lupin clapped his hands, calling their attention to him.

"Right. Has everyone finished reading?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now, who can tell me the incantation for a simple shield charm? Mr Creevey?"

"The incantation is Protego, sir," Colin replied. Professor Lupin turned to the other side of the room.

"What spells can a simple shield block? Miss Lovegood?"

"It can block against most low power spells, as well as majority of the higher power spells. It won't block the Unforgivables or extremely dark spells," Luna answered in her usual dreamy voice.

"Very good. Now, I would like all of you to put your books away, stand up and take your wands out," Professor Lupin instructed. Everyone followed his directions. As soon as everyone was standing, he waved his wand, sending the tables and chairs to neatly stack on the sides of the room.

"I want you to partner up and spread out. One of you will attempt to cast a shield and the other will send a disarming charm at them. Keep swapping roles until you can both conjure a shield to stop the disarming charm." Everyone partnered up quickly. Ginny partnered with Luna.

"Do you want to shield first?" Luna asked. Ginny nodded, holding her old wand out in front of her.

"Protego," she called. She felt a rush of power run down her arm and saw an extremely faint purple glow appear around of her.

"Expelliarmus," Luna called. Her spell hit the faint purple glow and was absorbed into it.

"Oh, well done Ginny," Luna congratulated her. She gave the girl a smile. Luna returned the smile before attempting the shield charm herself. After she cast the spell, Ginny cast the disarming charm, knowing it would work as no faint glow had appeared around Luna. As she had expected, Luna's wand flew out of her hand. She tossed the wand back.

She sheathed her old wand, flicking her right wrist and bringing her new wand into her hand. At Luna's nod, she cast the spell again. This time, she felt the power run down her arm but stop as it left the wand. Luna's spell hit her, causing her new wand to fly out of her hand. Luna gave it back with a smile.

"It's ok. Learning it with two wands is hard," Luna said quietly before trying the spell again. She didn't react to Luna's proclamation, used to her knowing random things by now. A shield had appeared in front of Luna, but disappeared when the spell hit it, causing her wand to fly to Ginny again. This time when Ginny cast the spell, she saw the power leave the wand, forming a shield around her again. As Luna's spell was absorbed, she smiled. It always took her one go more with her right hand than her left.

Confident that she had the spell now, she allowed Luna to shield the whole time. It only took Luna four more times before the shield held and absorbed the spell. Ginny looked around, seeing that basically their whole class was still struggling with the spell.

Professor Lupin was walking between the pairs, helping those who were struggling change their pronunciation or wand movement. He moved over to them, finding them just standing there.

"Why aren't you practicing girls?" he asked.

"We've already gotten the spell professor," Ginny replied.

"Ginny got it on her first try too," Luna added dreamily. He seemed surprised by that but nodded.

"Well done. Would you mind showing me?" Ginny flicked her left wrist, bringing her old wand to her hand, knowing Remus would recognise Harry's wand, while Luna pulled her wand out of her pocket again. They showed him their work and he smiled at them.

"Very well-done Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood. Five points to both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I have an extension activity if you would like it while everyone else works on this spell," he offered. They both nodded. "Well, this is above fourth year level, so I won't be surprised if you don't get it. But it can't hurt to extend yourselves. Try the spells non-verbally."

"Thanks Professor," Ginny said. Umbridge appeared behind him, a scowl present on her face.

"Excuse me, Professor Lupin. Did I just hear you tell these girls to try non-verbal spells. That is a sixth-year exercise," she asked in her high pitched, breathy voice.

"It can't hurt to extend them, especially when they finished well before their classmates," he replied evenly.

"Well, the ministry would prefer if you kept everyone at appropriate levels for their age. Then again, the ministry would also prefer if filthy half-breeds weren't teaching," Umbridge said, adding the last bit under her breath. But Ginny still heard her and her grip on her wand tightened. Professor Lupin tensed slightly, but other than that, it didn't seem like her words had affected him.

"Carry on girls. If you feel it is too much, feel free to continue reading through the textbook." Professor Lupin moved on, followed by Umbridge.

Luna and Ginny moved back in front of each other and Ginny offered to shield first. She focused on the incantation in her head. She pictured the power running down her arm, the magic spreading around her in a faint, purple glow like it had before. She felt the power run down her arm and nodded at Luna.

"Expelliarmus." The faint purple glow that was beginning to emerge from her wand disappeared as Luna cast her spell. Her wand flew out of her hand. They went back and forth, neither making much progress on silent shield charms.

Professor Lupin instructed them to all have one more attempt. It was Luna's turn to shield and Ginny watched as her friend concentrated. Luna nodded and she raised her wand. An idea suddenly came to mind. Instead of calling out the incantation, she focused on the spell in her head. She called out the incantation in her mind, the same way she would if she were talking to Harry. She felt the power rush down her hand, the blue light emerging from her wand. It rushed through the air between her and Luna, hitting Luna and causing her to lose her wand. They both stared at Luna's wand. It had sprung out of her hand and landed on the floor between them. Then Luna moved forward, hugging her.

"Oh, well done Ginny. That was brilliant."

"Thanks. I kinda just thought that the disarming charm was easier, so maybe starting with that would work." She shrugged. The spell fire around them had ceased and everyone turned to look at the Professor.

"Homework is a foot on the history of the simple shield charm. I also want anyone who didn't manage to successfully cast the charm to practice before our next class. Please pack up and wait by the door. Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood, a word before the bell." Everyone moved, grabbing their bags and moving to the door as Umbridge left the room. Ginny and Luna both headed over to Professor Lupin, bags over their shoulders.

"How did it go? Any progress?" he asked. Ginny shrugged. But Luna wasn't going to let her get away with that.

"Ginny managed to cast a silent disarming spell on her last go, Professor." Professor Lupin's head shot up and he stared at her.

"You managed to cast the disarming spell silently?" he asked. Ginny nodded, blushing slightly and staring at her feet. "That is really very impressive Ginny. Do you think you could do it again?"

She gave a half shrug before nodding. She had figured out how to do it, repeating it shouldn't be that hard. He pulled his wand out and she did the same, bringing her old wand to her hand. She wasn't sure if she could cast it with her new wand yet, even though in theory it should be the same.

"Whenever you're ready." She nodded. She repeated the process, calling out the incantation in the place their mind link used to be, rather than out loud. A blue light burst from her wand and hit the Professor, his wand flying out of his hand and into the air.

"50 points to Gryffindor, Ginny. I have never seen someone so young perform non-verbal magic. If you would like-" the bell cut him off, causing the rest of the class to stream out of the room. Luna waved, heading out the door as well. "As I was saying, if you would like, I would be happy to help you develop your magic."

"What do you mean Professor?" she asked.

"Would you like to have private lessons with me once a week? I would be happy to teach you more spells and develop your non-verbal ability."

"That sounds great. Thanks Professor. I have to get going or I'll be late to potions." She started to move, but Remus stopped her. He quickly scribbled something down, handing it to her.

"I'll send you a note at dinner with more details. Give this to Professor Snape if you're late." She thanked him, before hurrying out of the room. Even with a slip explaining why she was late she didn't want to give Snape more reasons to take points from Gryffindor.

She stalked into the common room after Potions. She didn't bother going to lunch. She wasn't hungry after what had just occurred. She found Ron and Hermione sitting together around one of the tables, homework spread in front of them. Hermione looked up as she stomped over to them, throwing her bag to the ground and collapsing onto a chair.

"What's wrong Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"You look angry," Ron added. She glared at him. He recoiled slightly, raising his hands in a defensive manner.

"Umbitch," she growled. She had earned the lovely nickname during her potions class, which she had been observing as well. Apparently, she was going to be present in all of fourth-year Gryffindors core classes for two days, to 'see how the professors teach different houses and year levels'.

"Ginny. That's not how you talk about a teacher. And Professor Umbridge works for the Ministry too," Hermione reprimanded her. She glared at Hermione before answering.

"She earnt that name. If I could hex her and get away with it, I would."

"What did she do Ginny?" Ron asked.

"What didn't she do. She was in DADA and told Remus off for giving me and Luna an extension task because we managed to perform the charm we were learning really quickly. And then called Remus a filthy half-breed, saying he shouldn't be teaching. Then, during Potions, she took points off because I was late. I had a note from Remus saying he had kept me back and even Snape didn't think I needed to lose points. Then, during the class, she kept mentioning to Snape how he would be a better Defence teacher than Remus and that she would talk to Dumbledore about giving him the job he wants," she ranted. Hermione and Ron stared at her as she finished her explanation.

"That bitch. How dare she call Remus a half-breed. He didn't ask to be bitten," Ron exclaimed.

"How many points did you lose for being late? And what was the extension activity?" Hermione asked, leaning forward.

"She took 5 points for being 5 minutes late. I had just earnt those points for getting the shield charm first go too." Ron patted her arm in sympathy.

"What was the extension activity? I might be able to help you get it before your next class," Hermione offered. She smiled at Hermione's offer but shook her head.

"I don't think you would be able to help. It was sixth year work. I'm going to go for a fly to work off my steam."

She didn't want it to get out that she could do non-verbal magic, even if it was just her friends; it was an ability that she wanted to keep secret until she needed it. Hermione and Ron nodded, and she headed up to her dorm.

She grabbed her broom, Harry's firebolt, which had been left to her, along with everything else, and opened the window, soaring out into the sky. She hadn't flown since he died, flying always being another way to remind her that he wasn't there. She flew some laps around the Quidditch pitch, simply enjoying the feel of the wind rushing through her hair again.

When she felt that her anger was finally fully gone, she flew back to her dorm. She entered through the still open window. Ginny placed the firebolt back under her bed and grabbed her stuff for her next classes. She headed out of the empty common room, swinging by the almost empty Great Hall to grab an apple and headed to her Ancient Runes class. She was just glad that she wouldn't have do deal with Umbitch during Ancient Runes, even if she would have to deal with her during Herbology. She just hoped that Umbitch would hold her tongue or she didn't think she could restrain herself from hexing her.


	50. Detention With a Toad

Ginny stalked out of the Defence classroom, fuming. It was the day after the full moon and, apparently, Umbitch had stepped in to teach the class while Remus recovered, rather than Snape like usual. And Umbitch had been even worse than she had been while observing classes.

According to Umbitch, the things they were learning weren't age appropriate and they shouldn't be doing practical lessons because they were dangerous. Ginny had had to restrain herself from throwing a silent stupefy at the woman. Her silent casting had improved greatly in the two months she had been having private lessons with Remus. And that was before she started going on about how Voldemort wasn't back. She had snapped at that comment.

As Ginny walked through the halls towards McGonagall's office, she thought back to the conversation that had led to this.

"You have been told that a certain dark wizard has returned. This is a lie," Umbitch had said, pacing in front of the class. She had been trying to get them to view things the way the ministry did.

"That's not true, Professor. Cedric saw him return. He killed Harry," she protested.

"Mr. Potter's death was a tragic accident," Umbitch snapped.

"It wasn't an accident. He was murdered!" She yelled. She had risen from her chair in her rage and was now standing at her desk, facing the human toad that she had to call a professor.

"His death was caused by an accident on his part during the third task." She was extremely angry now. Her hands were shaking, trying to resist the urge to draw her wands and hurt Umbitch for slandering her soul bonded.

"Harry's death was not an accident. He was murdered. Don't you dare stand in front of me and tell me that my boyfriend died due to his own errors." Her voice had risen, and she could feel the magic inside her stirring in reaction with her extreme emotions.

"Miss Weasley, Sit. Down. Mr. Potter was not murdered. The Dark Lord has not returned. Anyone saying otherwise is lying and I urge you to come to me if anything you hear scares you."

Ginny had ignored Umbitch's words and remained standing. Her magic was itching to be released and she couldn't hold it in any longer. She didn't have time to unsheathe either of her wands before it exploded out of her. The burst of magic had slammed into Umbitch and rushed through her, causing her to stumble. Ginny has felt her emotions reduce slightly, no longer right at the front of her mind. She had stood there, staring at the human toad as she regain her footing.

"Miss Weasley, come here." She had done as told and made her way to the front, not liking what was going to happen next. Umbitch had leaned on the desk and placed her face right in front of Ginny's.

"That will be 75 points from Gryffindor for using magic to harm a teacher. And I have a note for you to take to Professor McGonagall." Her voice had been soft and deadly and Ginny had known that it was in her best interest not to argue. Umbitch had quickly written a message on a scrap of parchment, sealing it shut with a tap of her wand, before handing it to her. She turned to leave and Umbitch addressed the rest of the class.

"Please continue your reading."

She was shaken out of her thoughts as she reached McGonagall's office. She knocked on the door, waiting for McGonagall to call her in. As she waited, she tried to get control of her surface magic, which had been thrashing around her as she walked through the halls. She hadn't fully gotten it under control by the time McGonagall called her in.

She pushed the door open and entered the office. McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, eyebrow raised as she watched her enter.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"Professor Umbridge was teaching for Professor Lupin today and told me to bring this note to you," she said, trying to keep her voice level. McGonagall didn't need her anger taken out on her. She handed the note over and McGonagall unsealed it with a tap of her wand. Ginny watched as her eyes moved across the page, eyebrows raising as she read.

"Is this true, Miss Weasley?" she finally asked.

"Is what true Professor? I don't know what was written."

"Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?"

"Yes."

"That you ignored her instruction to sit down?"

"Yes."

"That you told her that Harry was murdered, and that You-Know-Who is back?" She felt her anger come back slightly, and saw her magic thicken around her, preparing to attack again. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm her magic before replying.

"Yes."

"Did you attack Professor Umbridge?" She looked up from her feet to meet McGonagall's gaze.

"Yes. But I didn't mean to," she admitted. McGonagall looked at her, an emotion that she couldn't pinpoint evident on her face.

"Have a biscuit Weasley." McGonagall offered her a tin of biscuit and she took one, thoroughly confused, and sat down on the offered chair.

"Professor Umbridge has already taken 75 points from Gryffindor, yes?" She nodded. "She has also awarded you detention for the whole week, starting tonight, for attacking a teacher. You are to report to her office at seven o'clock tonight." Her magic and anger rose and thickened at the injustice.

"But Professor, I didn't even mean to attack her. My magic simply reacted to my emotions. I did my best to not attack her," she protested.

"I understand that you did your best to control your emotions and magic, but you are in fourth year, Miss Weasley. This means that you are expected to have a handle on your magic by now, even during times of high emotions. Professor Umbridge has every right to take points and give out detentions. I can not do anything about these detentions. Would you be able to tell my why you didn't have control on your emotions and magic?" McGonagall's voice was full of understanding and she sighed.

How would she explain that she had gained magical power at a time that was full of extreme emotions? Her control was almost back to where it had been at first year due to her magical power almost doubling.

"I'm not entirely sure Professor. Due to the large amount of high, negative emotion at the end of last year, my control of my magic has somehow reduced, I think," she explained.

"I would like you to go to Madame Pomphrey and see if there is anything she can do to help you with your magical control and then head to your next class. You have about 20 minutes left of this period." Ginny nodded and left the office, heading up to the hospital wing.

20 minutes later, she entered History of Magic. The trip to the hospital wing had been a waste of time as Madame Pomphrey had nothing to help her. She just hoped that learning advanced magic from Remus would help her put her excess magic to use. Otherwise, she wasn't sure how she would deal with Umbitch, especially if she kept pushing on her temper like that.

She sat quietly opposite Hermione and Ron at dinner that night. She simply played with her food, listening to the conversation that Ron and Hermione were having.

"Honestly, what could have happened today to make us lose that many points at once?" Ron asked between mouthfuls.

"I haven't passed the points hourglasses today Ron. I have no idea what you're talking about," Hermione replied, sipping at her pumpkin juice.

"We somehow lost over 75 points in one go. I passed the hour glasses on the way to the bathroom during Charms and saw 75 points disappear all at once." Ginny looked up from her plate to see a confused look on Hermione's face.

"You're right. What could have happened for us to lose that many points in one go?"

"Maybe accidentally attacking a toa ... teacher," she offered quietly. Hermione and Ron heard her response and turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"I mean, I may have been the one to lose those 75 points."

"How?"

"As I said, by accidentally attacking a teacher." She sighed, placing her cutlery down.

"Who did you attack?" Hermione asked.

"Umbitch. You know what happened during the summer?" Ron seemed confused but Hermione nodded. "Well, it made it harder for me to keep a control on my magic and my emotions were running quite high during DADA. She was filling in for Remus, due to last night, because Snape apparently couldn't, even though he has every other time, and kept going on about how Voldemort isn't back, and that Harry's death was an accident on his part in the Third Task. I snapped and yelled at her. I did my best not to attack her, I swear. But my magic reacted and slammed into her, pushing her back into her desk." She twisted the Potter ring around her finger, waiting for their reactions.

"I can see why she took 75 points. Not that it was your fault, but I can see where she was coming from," Hermione said quietly.

"What! That is so unfair. That was not worth 75 points! 25, yeah, even 50, but not 75!" Ron exclaimed at the same time. She sighed again.

"It wasn't just 75 points. I have detention after dinner for the whole week as well. I don't even know how to get control of my magic again." Hermione smiled sympathetically at her. She went back to playing with her food, occasionally bringing some to her mouth.

Soon enough, too soon for her liking, it was 10 to 7 and she stood up, heading out of the hall and making her way towards the toad's office. She knocked at exactly 7 and was bid entry. She gagged as she stepped into the office.

She was bombarded with pink. The whole office was pink and there were plates with cats on them hanging around the walls. She liked pink, her walls in her room were even a soft pink, but not this much. This was so much, bright and disgusting, and just too much. She moved further into the office, sitting down at the free desk in the middle of the room.

"You will be writing lines tonight, with one of my favourite quills."

Umbitch placed a sheet of parchment on the desk, along with a black quill. The quill was surrounded with a faint black sheen. She guessed it was an enchantment of some sort. Probably to make it self-inking or something like that.

"What do you want me to write?" she asked.

"I will control my temper."

"How many times?"

"As many as it takes to ... sink in." She nodded, not wanting to anger Umbitch again, and placed the quill on the paper.

She wrote out the line as told, gasping as she felt pain on the back of her writing hand. She glanced at her left hand and saw the words written on her skin, fading back to clear skin even as she watched. She placed the quill back on the page, writing out the line again. Again, the words seemed to be carved into her skin, before disappearing into clear skin.

She continued writing for 2 hours before the toad came over. By now, her hand had a red rash over the place that the writing was being carved. And while to most it seemed that her hand was merely irritated, there was also an almost invisible black sheen covering her hand. The exact same sheen that surrounded the quill. Umbitch grabbed her hand, inspecting the work.

"We will definitely need to continue working on this. Come back, same time tomorrow and we will see if we can get the message to sink in further." She nodded, grabbing the parchment she had been writing on, planning to burn it once she got back to the common room, to get rid of her blood, and exited the room, not even bidding the toad goodnight.

As she walked back to Gryffindor Tower, she inspected her hand closer. She grabbed her excess magic that was surrounding her and directed it to coat the top of her hand. Her magic pooled over the place that the black sheen was, and she allow it to rest there. Hopefully it would banish the foreign magic.

As soon as she woke up the next day, she inspected her hand. During the course of the night, the magic coating her hand had dissipated. But the black sheen had almost fully disappeared as well, the irritation basically gone. That night she went back to the toad's office for her detention.

This time she spent three hours writing lines and subsequently carving a single line into her hand. By the end of the three hours, the words had stopped fully healing. Again, she collected the parchment covered in her blood so that she could burn it. As she walked back to the tower, she did the same process as the previous night. She made sure her hand was fully covered in her magic before collapsing into her bed.

Detention on Wednesday proceeded the same as it had the previous two nights. Her hand was bleeding freely over the page as she reached the 3-hour mark. Umbitch didn't allow her to stop writing until ten-thirty. She made sure to clean up the blood that had covered the table, as much as she would have loved to let it stain, and carefully collected the parchment. As she walked back to the tower, she cleaned the blood up with a spare cloth she had in her pocket, before fully covering the wound in magic.

Thursday morning brought questions from Hermione.

"What are you doing in detention. You come back later each night and always seem exhausted. You've seemed really flat this week."

"I'm fine Hermione. I've only been writing lines. It's just annoying, writing the same 5 words over and over for three hours each night. Then I have to catch up on the homework I can't get done before my detention. It's just lack of sleep, I swear."

She had already decided that she wouldn't let anyone else know what the absolute toad was making her do in detentions. It was her problem and she would work out how to deal with it herself.

That night, she spent four hours writing the same five words over and over. She had gone through three pieces of parchment. Not because she had filled them up, but because half the page was covered in the blood that was pouring from her hand.

Before leaving, she again made sure to clean up all her blood, not wanting Umbitch to have access to her blood, freely given or not. She mopped the blood off her hand and wrapped it in the bandage she had brought as she walked back to the common room. She again coated her hand in magic, pooling an even larger amount than she had done previously around it. She hoped that the extra magic would make sure that the faint lines of words that had been present during the day didn't get worse.

She was thankful when her classes finished on Friday. Her detentions were exhausting in every way. Her magic was no longer wanting to lash out. Instead, it seemed to curl up inside her during the day, only the smallest amount easily accessible when needed. It seemed to have to recharge after each detention. And the lack of sleep was catching up on her, she had even fallen asleep in History of Magic, something that hadn't happened since her first year (she always liked hearing the different goblin names; she found them funny).

She reached Umbitch's office that night, thankful that it was her last detention. She was certain that she would be able to keep a hold of her magic around the toad, if only to avoid more of these horrible detentions. She sat down at the desk, dutifully picking up the quill and beginning to write.

 _I will control my temper._ The faint words on the back of her hand were ripped open, blood beginning to leak out of the wound.

 _I will control my temper._ The words were carved again and again into her hand. I will control my temper. The blood was flowing freely now, running down her hand and slowly dripping onto the parchment.

 _I will control my temper._ The blood pooled on the parchment and began to spread across it.

 _I will control my temper._ She picked up another piece of parchment, placing the blood soaked one on the edge of the desk.

 _I will control my temper._ Her whole hand was covered in blood, and it was beginning to run down her arm as well.

 _I will control my temper._ A second piece of parchment was soaked in blood and was discarded, placed on top of the first as a third sheet was moved in front of her.

 _I will control my temper._ Blood had soaked through the parchment and was beginning to stain the desk.

 _I will control my temper._ The pool of blood on the desk had begun to slowly drip off the desk, hitting the carpet next to her.

 _I will control my temper._ The cuts in her hand were extremely painful, the words unable to be seen through the blood.

 _I will control my temper._ Her hand spasmed as she carved through nerve and muscle, causing her to drop the quill, gasping in pain. She flexed her hand before picking the quill up again, her every movement watched carefully by Umbitch.

 _I will control my temper._ The fourth and fifth pieces of parchment were discarded to the side, covered in blood and unable to be written on.

 _I will control my temper._ She glanced at the clock. 11 o'clock.

 _I will control my temper._ She looked up at the toad, who showed no sign of telling her to stop soon.

 _I will control my temper._ The blood that was dripping onto the carpet had formed a large pool and she was sure that she had lost a large amount of blood.

 _I will control my temper._ Finally, Umbitch stood up, making her way towards her.

The toad vanished the blood staining the desk and the carpet with a wave of her wand, which she was both thankful for and annoyed about. She had no clue where she had sent the blood, but was thankful that she wouldn't have to clean it up this time. She then grabbed Ginny's hand. Another flick of her wand removed the blood covering her hand and lower arm.

"Yes, I believe that the message has sunk in enough. You may go." Ginny wrenched her hand away from the toad, holding it close to her chest, using the other to grab all the parchment that her blood had touched and shoved them in an empty pocket of her bag.

She left the room, pulling the cloth and bandages from her cloak pocket as she walked. She was glad she had been able to get the bandages from the hospital wing without questions, along with a blood replenishing potion which she knew she needed. She wiped up the blood that had covered her hand in the few minutes since Umbitch had cleaned it.

She could see the words clearly cut into her hand. She applied pressure to her hand, wrapping the bandages tightly around her hand, leaving the cloth on her hand to soak up the blood. She pushed all the magic that wasn't hidden inside her to her hand. The glow of her magic covering her hand managed to hide the black sheen, but only just. She wasn't sure if the black sheen, and the words, would ever fully go away. She hoped that at least the sheen of black magic would disappear.

After making sure her hand was fully wrapped, in both bandage and magic, she knocked back the potion, wrinkling her nose at the taste. But at least she wasn't light headed anymore.

She woke up late the next day. She glanced at the clock hanging on the opposite wall, only slightly surprised to see that it was almost noon. She had been extremely tired. She sat up in bed, carefully unwrapping the bandages around her hand. Her own magic had disappeared from around her hand, like it did every morning.

The black sheen was still covering her hand, an almost invisible coating, tainting her own magic, but fainter than it had been the night before. She finished unwrapping her hand and lifted the cloth off. She winced when she saw the words that had scarred into her hand. She had hoped that her magic would manage to fully heal her. But maybe it would just take time. She looked down at her hand again, trying to ignore the words on her hand.

**That looks like it hurt Gin.**

She. Did. Not. Scream.


	51. Voices

She. Did. Not. Scream.

Or at least, she did her best not to scream. Which was harder than you would think. Especially when a voice was in her head. Specifically, when it was a voice you never thought you would hear again, a voice that belonged to someone who dead. She tried to slow her heartbeat and catch her breath. She had to have imagined it. It simply couldn't be true. It must have been caused from her exhaustion and the lost blood, the blood that hadn't been replaced yet, even with the potion, from the night before.

**Are you ok Gin?**

This time, this time she definitely screamed. She did her best to muffle it with her pillow, but it still occurred. Because she could not have imagined it twice. There was no way she would allow her mind to conjure that voice. Not even her subconscious would try to torture her like that.

She felt around in her head, gasping when she found an open connection in her mind. An open connection that she thought had been closed for good five months ago. But the connection was as strong as it had been when Harry entered the maze.

 **Harry?** she asked tentatively. She really hoped that this wasn't some cruel trick. She wasn't sure that she would be able to handle the loss again.

 **Yes Gin?** His voice came back strong as it had always been. She couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes.

**Is that really you Harry?**

**Of course, Gin. I told you I would always be here.** She couldn't stop the tears from falling. They streamed down her face as a smile made its way onto her face.

 **Are you ok Gin? Why are you crying?** She let out a half sob, half laugh.

 **You don't know?** She asked.

 **No. What's going on luv?** A thought came to her. If he didn't know what was going on, she should at least find out what he did know.

**Harry, do you ... do you know what the date is?**

**Uh, the 25th of June. Maybe the 26th or 27th. Why?** Ginny's tears kept flowing as she tried to understand what had happened.

 **Harry, it's. It's November Harry. November 24th.** She suddenly felt a rush of emotions that weren't hers. A rush of emotions that were where Harry's had been. Confusion, fear, terror, pain.

 **What happened Gin? What happened to me? Why did I lose five months of my life? Why are you crying?** She could hear the hurt and confusion in his voice and it caused another round of tears to come.

 **You died Harry. You died.** Her sobbing intensified as she relieved one of the hardest time of her life, her first year being just as hard. **I thought I'd lost you. Cedric came back with your body, saying you'd died at Voldemort's hand. I thought you'd left me after promising that you'd always be here.**

 **I'll always be here Gin. Always.** She felt her excess magic that was at the surface wrap around. A warmth spread through her, like Harry was hugging her.

 **Could you explain everything that's happened since I entered the maze?** Ginny wiped her eyes, relaxing slightly into the embrace of the magic. She explained everything to him.

She told him of how she had felt everything that happened in the maze. How she felt the bond stretch so far that it was like it had just formed. How she searched for a better connection, a mind link, something, anything. How she had connected by seeing through his eyes just in time to see a green light envelop his vision. She explained how she felt the bond snap, how her mind, magic and very being was seemingly ripped in half. How she was taken to the hospital wing and passed out.

She told him everything she had been told. How Cedric had appeared with his body covered by his invisibility cloak. How his body was brought up to the hospital wing and his external injuries healed by Madame Pomphrey. How she had woken up and collapsed on him, trying to get him to wake up. How she had begged him to not leave her before passing out again. How she had been unconscious for 3 days to adjust to the loss. She explained how it had taken her a week to be able to do basic things without becoming exhausted quickly. How it had been even longer than that before she could touch a male without pain.

She told him about the large service and the smaller funeral. About the reading of the will and how she had seen his real will. She told him that she had claimed the Ladyships to accompany his Lordships. How she had visited Potter House. How she had bonded with his wand. She told him everything.

 **Where are you? What happened to you? Do you know?** She was desperate for any information.

**I have no idea where I am. Everything is dark unless I focus on you. If I focus on you, then I can see out of your eyes. I don't know much of what happened. I remember fighting Voldemort. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to dodge the curse as he cast it. I remember my vision being filled with green before becoming black.**

**Then everything went numb. Complete blackness. No feelings, sights, sounds, smells, anything. I felt extremely weak, unable to even gather any strength to move. But then there was light, and two voices, voices telling me that they loved me but that it wasn't my time. They said that I had to go back, to try and find you. I think ... I think they were my parents. I wanted to stay, to meet them, wanted to meet my parents. I wanted to go into the light and be safe. But they kept telling me that it wasn't my time, that I had to go back. They kept telling me to focus on you. So I did.**

**And then I remember feeling ghosts of pain. And realising it was coming from you. So, I focused on you even more. And suddenly I could see again. I could see the scars on the back of your hand. And I focused even more and was able to contact you. I couldn't hug you, but I really wanted to. So, I tried reaching out in any way to hug you.** Ginny smiled. So that was what the magical embrace was.

**That worked. You remember how one of the books said that our magic would grow?**

**Yeah.**

**Well, my magic increased by a huge amount over the holidays. Like I had gained a second core, plus the extra magic from the bond. The excess magic wrapped around me, just like a hug.** She felt the magic tighten around her, squeezing her in a loving embrace. She smiled, sending Harry a smile too. She received a smile in return.


	52. Two in One

Ginny spent the weekend talking with Harry, trying to work out what was going on with them. It was extremely confusing, but she was determined that they would work it out. She was in an abandoned classroom, practicing casting with both her wands, when Harry spoke up.

 **Can I try something?** He asked.

 **Sure.** She lowered her arms, both wands still in hand. She felt Harry move closer to the front of her mind, a feeling that she decided she liked.

 **Lumos,** he whispered. His wand, which hung loosely in her right hand, lit up at his words. She gasped in surprise.

 **What was that?** She asked, very confused. She felt Harry shrug.

 **I have a theory. I want to try something else, but I don't want to freak you out. Can I try to move your arm?** She didn't answer for a while, confused about what was going on. **What do you mean?**

 **Well, I have a theory that I am actually in your mind. The longer I spend with you, the more the blackness around me solidifies. It looks like what my mind looked like around where the link between our minds was; you remember how we were able to sink into our minds when focusing on the bond.** She nodded. She had found herself often sinking into her mind before bed, going straight to where their link was, but she had noticed that the rest of her mind had become organised and shielded as well. It seemed like she had unknowingly learnt Occlumency, a skill that she had heard Bill talking about when he started working with the goblins.

**Anyway, what I mean is, our souls are one, right? So, what if, when I died, my half of the soul fled to your body and has been regaining strength. So, I just thought, maybe I could control your body as well. If you don't want me to, that's fine. It was just a thought.**

**I ... I don't know love. Not being in control of my own body. That brings up memories ... I don't want it to ... to feel like ... like Tom is in control,** she replied hesitantly. Harry sighed and she felt him give her a hug, the magic floating around her wrapping her in a comforting embrace.

 **We don't have to if you don't want to. It's completely up to you,** Harry reassured her. **You'll still be able to see everything your doing, and I'll stop whenever you tell me to. But if it makes you uncomfortable, I won't do it. I will never do anything that you don't want or aren't ready for.** She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves. Harry would never do anything to hurt her or anyone else. She breathed in deeply again, exhaling in a shaky laugh.

"Ok. Ok, you can try," she said out loud, trying to keep control of her nerves. Her voice was shaky, but she did her best to remain confident. Harry nodded.

**I'm just going to raise your right arm, ok?**

"Ok." This time, her voice wasn't shaky. She felt Harry reach out and then her arm raised. She breathed in and out deeply, trying to control her mind, stopping it from going into overdrive. This was Harry. Not Tom, Harry. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't control her. He wouldn't do anything without her permission. This was Harry. She felt the magic arms around her wrap tighter, comforting her as she did her best to keep her composure. She felt Harry move back a bit, her arm falling back down to her side, back in her control.

 **I won't do that again. Not without your permission. I swear.** She could hear the honesty in his voice and nodded, sending him a grateful smile.

**Thank you.**

**Of course, Gin. You should head back to your dorm; it's almost dinner and you need to put your bag away.** She nodded and started making her way back up to the dorm, sheathing both wands before exiting the classroom. It wouldn't do for people to start asking questions. She made her way back to the common room, dumping her bag in her dorm. She found Hermione and Ron waiting for her at the bottom of the girls stairs and together they left the common room, heading down to dinner.

Ginny packed her bag up after a theory session of DADA. She went to stand up, only to find Professor Lupin standing behind her.

"Yes Professor?" she asked, standing up.

"I was wondering if you would like to continue our sessions tonight? I missed you over the last week."

"Sorry about that Professor. Yes, I would be happy to." Professor Lupin nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Same time as usual then." She nodded as the bell rang and picked her bag up, slinging it over her shoulder and heading to History of Magic. She had something to look forward to after dinner, rather than detention.

She walked into the abandoned classroom that they were using for the extra lessons, a small skip in her step. Remus was already waiting for her, his wand out.

"What are we doing today Professor?" she asked, drawing her wand as she did so.

"I thought that we could start with learning the Patronus charm this week. Is that alright with you?" She nodded, feeling Harry smile.

"That sounds good Professor. Have you taught anyone this spell before?" She knew the answer, Harry having provided it, but wanted to start somewhere.

"I have. Last time I was here. The dementors not having been retracted from the castle yet, even though there was no reason for them to be there with Sirius cleared, I had to teach Harry the spell, due to his severe reaction to them." He took a deep breath before smiling at her. "Now, I believe you will be able to master this spell eventually, even if it takes a while. It took Harry quite a few tries to even cast an incorporeal Patronus, even longer to cast a corporeal one. I want you to think of your happiest memory. A time when you felt happier than you can describe."

She immediately thought back to the soul bond and the day it formed. It had been the first time they had kissed, and the happiness thrumming through the bond had been a mix of her happiness, Harry's happiness, and the joy the bond always held.

"Ok. Then what?"

"The incantation is Expecto Patronum." She nodded, drawing the feelings of that day to the forefront of her mind. She held her wand in front of her, copying the wand movement that Remus was showing her.

"Expecto Patronum." A flicker of silver light appeared in front of her, rushing from her wand into the air around her. She looked up at Remus and saw him smiling.

"Very good. You need to try and put a bit more power into it. That should make it at least like a shield, rather than a flicker of mist." She nodded, accepting the small piece of chocolate that he handed her.

**Be prepared. He will feed you chocolate every time you cast the spell.**

**And that's a bad thing, why?** She shot back. Harry was silent for a few moments, allowing her to finish her chocolate before replying.

 **Fair point. Enjoy the chocolate.** She laughed quietly, Harry's own quiet laughter joining her in her head, before raising her arm again. She focused on the bond, the feeling it brought her. The safety and comfort it gave her.

"Expecto Patronum." Again, a silver mist appeared from her wand. This time it was thicker and formed a shield in front of her, as well as lasting rather than instantly fading away.

"That was good. Do you want to have another go, or leave it here for tonight? It is a very taxing spell to learn," Remus asked, handing her a second square of chocolate.

"Another try," she replied, determined to get more than a shield. Remus nodded, moving back to the side of the room again. This time, she didn't focus on the bond. She focused on Harry. How she felt when they were together, how he always tried his best to make her happy.

"Expecto Patronum." The mist this time was even thicker and seemed to solidify into a shape for a moment, before slipping away and back into a shield, before fully disappearing.

"That was really good. You almost had a corporeal Patronus there. If you want to come back again on Wednesday, we can keep working on it, to catch up for last weeks missed session," Remus suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea, Professor, thank you." Remus looked at her intently as she ate the chocolate she had been given.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened that caused you to miss last week?"

"I had detention every night last week. I may have, uh, accidently attacked Professor Umbit...Umbridge," she explained. Remus raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on her slip of the tongue.

"What happened? You don't seem like a person who would attack a teacher."

"It was an accident. She was saying some things and she caused me to snap. After ... everything ... my control on my magic ... it isn't the greatest. I tried to hold my magic back, or to get my wand in hand to at least direct the magic, but I wasn't fast enough. My magic exploded, throwing her back into the desk," she explained, giving him a sheepish smile. She played with the Potter ring, waiting to see how Remus reacted.

"I can see why that would get you five detentions. And I'm scared to ask, but what was she saying. I know you, and it takes a lot for you to snap."

"Thanks Professor. And you don't want to know. Because if I tell you, Sirius will find out. And no matter how much I hate her, I don't want Sirius to try and kill her, or set an angry werewolf on her." Remus took a deep breath and she looked down at her rings, giving him a moment. She knew her comment would let him know what she was talking about at least.

"I can understand your reasoning. I won't tell him, and I will control myself. What did she say about Harry?" She didn't respond, not knowing if she could bring herself to repeat the words.

 **Do you want me to? I can take over and explain if you can't. It will be just like when I moved your arm yesterday,** Harry offered.

 **Yes please. I can't say it. I can barely bare thinking about it. But, only to explain and then you move back, ok. I don't think I could have you in control for much longer than that.** Harry nodded and she felt him move forward. She felt her mouth open, words coming out of her mouth, repeating what Umbitch had said. She was still in control of everything expect her mouth and the words coming out, so she kept looking at her ring, twisting it round and round her finger as Harry explained. She felt him close her mouth and looked up. Remus had his eyes closed and was obviously trying to control his temper. She could faintly see his magic whipping around him.

"I completely understand why you snapped. I can barely hold my magic in, and you are much more powerful than me. I don't blame you for loosing your temper. So, Wednesday then?"

"That sounds good Professor. Thank you." Remus nodded, waving her out. She headed back to the common room, thanking Harry over and over for doing that, even though having him control her was still unsettling and threatened to bring up memories of the diary.

**Ginny, I will always help you, even if it's just with little things like that. I will always be here.**

**I don't know what I would do without you Harry.**

**I don't know what I would do without you either, love.**


	53. Bonds

After reaching her dorm, she sat down on her bed and drew the covers around her, casting silencing charms all around the bed. She then pulled back into her mind, moving away from the physical world and into her mental one. It was an ability that she had been using since the mind connection with Harry appeared. She had found that she could retreat into her mind and found the link that connected them, as well as being able to move through her memories.

As soon as she entered her mind, she headed to the back corner, where the link used to be. In the place of the link, she found Harry. Not his magic, him. He seemed to be there the same way she was, with a physical body inside her mind. Once she laid eyes on him, she bolted, throwing her arms around him, hugging tight. He returned the embrace just as tightly. They stood there for a while, simply holding each other before Ginny pulled away.

"I missed you. So much," she said, trying to stop her voice from breaking from emotion. She knew he was with her, but she had only known that for 3 days. And even then, it wasn't the same. Harry leaned down, kissing her softly.

"I know Gin. But I'm here now and I won't be leaving," he whispered into her hair after he pulled away.

"Help me find a memory happy enough for a Patronus? Nothing I can think of is strong enough for corporeal." Harry nodded. He took her hand and together they moved into her memories.

All her memories seemed to be organised in filing cabinets, except she had no clue how they were organised. She didn't even know when they had been organised, but she guessed around the time the bond was formed, or at least when the mind-link formed. They walked through each row of filing cabinets, trying to find a cabinet that was labelled with something that would cause happiness.

They tried the family row, but even that didn't have enough happiness that was needed, at least, not enough for the first few attempts; Harry had told her how he found it get easier to cast, not needing as strong memories, as he got more practice. Each cabinet was full of memories with each member of her family, plus cabinets for memories with more than one of them, including a cabinet for whole family memories. Some of the memories would be strong enough for a mist, or incorporeal Patronus, but none strong enough for a corporeal Patronus.

They moved onto the friends row next and, again, found no memories strong enough. Harry smiled sadly and squeezed her hand tightly when they reached Fleur's cabinet and he saw how she had helped Ginny during June. They moved on to the next row and they both stopped in shock. The next row was Harry's row. She hadn't thought that she had enough memories with Harry to take up a whole row. Especially because her family took up a row and she had known them a lot longer and there was a lot more of them. But, the cabinets in this row didn't have as many draws. They slowly walked through the row, arms swinging slightly between them.

They stopped at each cabinet, looking in to see what every memory was. It started with all the memories she had of the stories about Harry, before moving into the memories of Ron's tales about him. Then the first memories of him, the memories of him during her first year. The memories kept going, moving to her second year and then they were together. The memory of their first kiss had Harry pull her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. She observed the memory, trying to work out why it didn't have enough happiness for a Patronus. It was full of happiness, but as she looked closer, she saw the confusion, the doubt about what had just happened. The traces of sadness that now coated every memory of Harry, almost unnoticeable, but there.

She moved on, moving through all her memories of them being together. Harry had separated from her, moving to look at the filing cabinets on the other side of the row. She reached the memories of his death and couldn't continue. She was overcome with grief again, not wanting to go through it a second time. Harry was at her side in an instant, holding her close and kissing the tears from her cheeks.

"Hey, it's ok Gin. I'm here now. I'm not going to leave you," his soft voice whispered as he continued to kiss away her tears.

"I ... I can't look through those memories," she said after managing to slow her tears.

"That's fine. We can skip those. How about we move to the end of the row," Harry suggested. She nodded and he stood, offering her a hand, pulling her up from where she had collapsed.

"What's on the other side?" She knew that she had gone through all the memories she had with or about him.

"Um, all my memories about or with you. And before you ask, I have no clue." He ran his free hand through his hair.

"Probably something to do with the bond," she replied.

"Yeah, probably." They continued walking until they reached the end of the row. Ginny took a deep breath before moving back over to the second last filing cabinets; she wanted to know what was in the last ones. She opened the bottom draw and was overwhelmed by the happiness, surprise, hope, joy, love, and relief. She looked down and realised what the memory was. It was the moment that she realised Harry hadn't really left her. The moment that he had confirmed it was him.

"I found it. This is the one," she decided. She pulled Harry over and he looked into the draw before nodding.

"That definitely has a lot of positive emotions. I know you're crying, but I'm hazarding a guess that those are happy tears?" Ginny nodded, shutting the draw again after she had taken in all the emotions that the memory held.

"I need to go now, it's probably really late and I still have lessons tomorrow," she said reluctantly.

"I'm only a thought away if you need me," he reminded her. She smiled up at him, leaning up to brush a soft kiss across his lips.

"I know," she replied softly. He led her to the entrance of her mind, winding their way through the rest of her memory rows to reach the entrance.

"Bye," she whispered before she pulled away and out of her mind, reality appearing in front of her again. She glanced over at the clock, before pulling on her pyjamas and slipping into bed. 1 o'clock was probably a bit late to go to sleep on a school night.

After classes on Tuesday she headed to an empty classroom, wanting to try the Patronus charm before her lesson with Professor Lupin. She knew she would regret not doing her homework now, but she didn't have any unfinished work that was due the next day, so it would be fine.

She locked the door, hoping that no one would try to interrupt her. She pulled out her old wand and raised her left arm. She focused on the memory that she had chosen the previous night, pulling all the emotions from the memory to the front of her mind, letting the positive emotions fill her up.

"Expecto Patronum." The room was filled with a silver glow as a large, silver doe emerged from her wand, prancing around the room.

 **Well done Gin.** She smiled, watching her Patronus move around the room, before fading away. A silver glow remained, the magic tracing around where the doe had moved.

 **Do you want a try?** She felt Harry move to the front of her mind. **Are you sure?**

 **Yes. Right arm, your wand. Try it silently,** she said. She had worked out that if she told him exactly what to control, then it wouldn't make her panic. She felt him nod and her right arm rose, her wrist flicking and catching Harry's wand. She brought her left arm up as well, her old wand still in hand.

 **Expecto Patronum.** Harry's silver stag burst out of his wand, closely followed by her silver doe from her wand as she cast the spell as well. Both Patronuses leapt around the room, seeming to play with each other. They stood still, side by side in front of her after completing a few laps of the room, before fading away again.

Wednesday came quickly and before she knew it, she was back in the empty classroom with Professor Lupin.

"Are you ready to continue Ginny?" She nodded eagerly, wanting to see his reaction to her Patronus.

"Whenever you're ready then." She took a step back, to have some room to cast her Patronus, and brought her old wand into her hand. She focused on her chosen memory, allowing all the emotions to come to the forefront of her mind like she had done the day before, allowing the positive emotions to fill her up.

"Expecto Patronum." The silver mist appeared from her wand, forming her silver doe within seconds. She watched with a smile on her face as the doe explored the room, checking it for anything dangerous.

"Very good Ginny. You got that quicker than I expected." Ginny smiled.

"Thank you, Professor. I spent some of my free time looking through my memories and trying to find one with the most positive emotions."

"That is very impressive. If you don't mind, what memory did you choose?" She stiffened slightly, trying to work out what to say. She had no clue what to tell him.

 **Go with a partial truth. Tell him you were thinking about me. Or, if you think we can trust him with this, say you were thinking of the first time my voice was in your head,** Harry suggested. She sent him a mental smile.

**Thank you. I want to tell him, but I don't know how he will react.**

**I doubt he will react badly. Just ask him to keep it a secret.** She nodded slightly before looking up at the man standing in front of her.

"Um, what I thought of is kind of sensitive, extremely private and personal. I'm happy to tell you, but I don't want anyone else to find out," she said slowly.

"I won't tell anyone unless you want me too," Remus promised.

"I was thinking about the first time I spoke to Harry in my mind." Remus gasped softly.

"You had a soul bond with him," he breathed. Ginny's head shot up in surprise.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Lily and James had one too. When I saw Harry's Patronus I suspected he might have had a bond with someone and your Patronus led me to think the same thing. Deer Patronuses are almost always the symbol of love and connection, among the other things they represent and those who are soul-bonded always have a stag and doe Patronus," Remus explained. Ginny could feel Harry's shock and confusion alongside her own.

"But I thought that soul bonds were really rare."

"They are. I didn't think I would see or hear of one after James and Lily, and we were lucky to have witnessed theirs," Remus agreed. "How long have you known?"

"The end of my second year, Harry's third was when the bond snapped into place. The mind connection formed when his name came out last year. What about Harry's parents?" She knew that Harry would want to know; he was always searching for information about his parents.

"Their bond appeared during the holidays between sixth and seventh year. Lily and James had been corresponding all holidays and Lily finally admitted that she liked him at the end of July, wanting to make him wait a month before he could see her. But James couldn't have that and turned up at her doorstep the next day. Their mind connection appeared when Lily found out she was pregnant. She was so shocked that she screamed out the information in her mind and James, who was visiting me and Siri, actually winced at the noise before he processed what had happened." Ginny laughed softly at that and she could feel Harry's joy at the information.

"How many people knew about their connection?"

"Only me, Siri and Pettigrew. I'm pretty sure that the traitor didn't tell anyone; actually we all made an oath to only talk about it around their family and very close friends, so he couldn't have. You count. How many people knew about your bond?"

"Only you and Hermione know about it. Harry and I agreed to keep it quiet, mainly because we were so young when it first formed. Hermione found out when something happened that I thought was impossible and now you." Remus waved her over to the desk he was leaning against and she moved over, hopping up to sit on the desk next to him. He handed her a bar of chocolate, allowing her to eat in silence as they both thought over everything that had just been said.

"How did you find out what the bond was?" Remus finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, Harry had the ability to see magical traces and was able to identify what the bond looked like, a golden rope with a slight pink glow. We spent the holidays searching for anything with any reference to what we had. He was able to find books on soul bonds in the Potter Library."

"So that's what he was researching every day."

"Yeah. We wanted all the information we could get, and he had more resources than I did." Remus nodded before sighing.

"I can understand why you didn't tell anyone; I just wish he had of told us. We could have helped him. We already knew a lot from when we were researching what Lily and James had; that's why Potter Library had so many books that reference soul bonds."

**That makes so much sense.**

**It does. I was wondering how we were able to find so much info at Potter Manor.**

**Do you think we should let Moony tell Pads?** Ginny honestly had no idea about that. Before today, she hadn't even thought about telling anyone other than Hermione.

"Ginny." She looked up at Remus.

"Yeah?"

"I know it's not my place to ask, but I was wondering what Harry left you in his will, being your soul-bonded. It just didn't seem like Harry to only leave a gift and a letter to you, especially now that I now about your bond."

"Um, he left me these rings, they were the gift. And the letter was the real will, leaving me everything he had, other than the other bequests. As his soul-bonded he was able to leave everything to me, as well as have the fake will made, to keep the bond a secret," Ginny explained, holding up her right hand so that Remus could see the rings.

"That looks like the Potter Ladyship ring, only without the crest," Remus murmured, brushing his finger over the ring sitting on her ring finger. In her shock, she accidently let the glamour covering the crests disappear, all three crests melting back into sight.

"Ok, that actually is the Potter Ladyship ring," Remus corrected himself. He looked closer at the other two rings, inspecting the crests that had appeared. "Along with the ... Gryffindor and Peverell? Ladyship rings. Do I even want to ask?" Ginny laughed lightly.

"Yes, they are the Potter, Gryffindor and Peverell Ladyship rings," she agreed.

"You are 14. You have to be of age to claim a Lord/Ladyship. Not to mention that you are no where near in line with your family and you aren't a Potter. "

"Well, in the eyes of the goblins and the Old Laws, I've been an adult since Halloween last year, same with Harry. The formation of the mind link makes the bond the strongest it can be, automatically giving us a status of emancipated minor/legal adult, as well as having a bond stronger than marriage. Due to that, when Harry was called into Gringotts during Christmas he was able to claim his Lordships, even if he chose not to wear the rings. Hence having a working will. With me being his soul bonded, I was able to claim the accompanying Ladyships as soon as he claimed his Lordships, which he forgot to tell me until I found out in his will," she explained with a shrug. Remus gaped at her for a few minutes before coming to his senses.

"Ok, that is one thing that we never found out with Lily and James."

"Well, they would have already been adults and married when the mind link formed, so Lily being able to become Lady Potter wouldn't have been a surprise."

"Also, did you say that the Gryffindor and Peverell Ladyships came from Harry?"

"Yeah, the Potters are direct descendants from Gryffindor and the youngest Peverell. Harry could claim Peverell because there was no heir apparent and no one had claimed it, even though there is another heir alive." Harry had explained it to her the previous day when he had noticed her rings and made a remark about her having claimed her Ladyships. Remus shook his head.

"I would never have thought that I would find all of this out just because I was teaching you the Patronus charm."

"Neither did I, honestly. Well, I should head back to my dorm." She jumped off the desk and headed towards the door, stopping in the doorway, having finally made a decision about what Harry had suggested.

"Remus."

"Yes?"

"You can tell Padfoot about me and Harry having a soul bond if you want, he deserves to know. But no one else." Remus nodded and she left, heading back to her dorm after a very successful extension lesson.


	54. Knowledge

As soon as the Christmas holidays had begun and the train had left the station, Remus apparated away from Hogsmeade. He had been one of the designated teachers to see the students safely away, and was amongst the few other teachers who would be going home for the holidays.

He landed in front of Potter Manor and headed inside, even though he knew Sirius would be at Grimmauld Place. He had no idea how Sirius could stand being there, in the place he had grown up with so much hate, but he kept saying it was better than Potter Manor, with all the memories the manor held. He pushed open the front doors and three pops sounded as he reached the middle of the entrance hall. Mimi, Atta and Fergo appeared in front of him, bowing or curtseying.

"Master Moony bes coming home," Mimi said happily, clapping her hands together.

"Yes I am. I'm sorry that we haven't been here for a while; I've been teaching and Padfoot is consumed in grief. I'll do my best to convince Padfoot to come back as well, but this place probably holds too many memories for him right now and I won't be staying just yet."

"That bes fine Master Moony. Fergo and Mimi bes making sure everything stays clean and orderly and Atta bes making sure the kitchen is still stocked," Fergo said. He smiled and dismissed the happy elves, who all popped away with a bow. He made sure everything he passed in the manor was still fine as he headed to the library.

Reaching the library, he headed over to the log book, asking for all books on soul bonds and brought them all to the bench next to the log book. He collected them all and sat down on one of the many couches and began reading, trying to see if there was anything that they had missed while investigating for Lily and James. Trying to see how much he remembered so that he could help Ginny. He came across a section in a small, slim, black book that made him cursed softly.

_Soul bonds are something that should never be broken, even in death. Those who are soul-bonded normally die within the same year, normally within months or even weeks of each other. This is due to their soul trying to reach its other half, trying to spare the survivor the pain of losing a bonded. For those who lose their soul-bonded, we offer a sincere apology. The pain of losing a soul-bonded is immense and almost always causes the other to pass out, normally ending in a coma until their magic, mind and body have adjusted to the loss. If both people in a soul-bond die to save someone else that they love as much as their soul-bonded, the gift that Lady Magic bestowed on them can often grant the one they died for a blessing, allowing them to survive through whatever killed the two with a soul bond._

That would explain everything. Why Ginny had been in such pain and why she collapsed and was in a coma for three days. That would explain why her magic had been unstable, causing her to attack a teacher. And that would be why Harry had survived the attack that killed both Lily and James. He just hoped that the dying with the same year wouldn't apply to Ginny. He picked the book up, slipping it into his bag before standing up and exiting the library and making his way outside the wards.

As soon as he was able to, he apparated away, heading straight to Grimmauld Place. He moved into the house, heading straight into the kitchen where he could almost always find Sirius.

"Siri, are you in here?" he asked as he entered the room.

"Hey Moony." The reply came from back corner of the room and he crossed the kitchen quickly, finding his boyfriend hidden in the shadows.

"I have news. Let's head to our room, the news needs to be kept secret." Sirius nodded and he pulled the other man to his feet. Together they headed up to their room. Once seated on the bed, Sirius turned to face him.

"Ok, what is it?"

"Well, I was in the Potter Library, looking some stuff up, when I came across something that made me realize how Harry survived the attack when he was a baby." Sirius stiffened when he heard Harry's name, but nodded.

"How?" he asked softly. Remus smiled, taking Sirius' hand gently in his own.

"James and Lily saved him. Their soul bond saved him," he replied just as quietly. "If two people who are soul bonded, in this case, James and Lily, die to save someone they love as much as their bonded, so Harry, then the person they die to protect may be blessed by Lady Magic to survive whatever killed the two bonded." Sirius nodded slowly, obviously trying to work it all out.

"So, James died to protect Lily and Harry, and Lily died to protect Harry, who they both loved as much as each other. So Lady Magic blessed him to survive Voldemort, who had killed his parents," Sirius confirmed. Remus nodded, handing over the book he had found it in. Sirius glanced at the cover, taking in the title, _Ins and Outs of the Soul_ , before looking back up at him.

"Why were you looking into soul bonds?"

"To help someone."

"Who? They're meant to be incredibly rare."

"I am allowed to tell you, but you have to swear not to tell anyone. The person who told me hasn't even told her family yet," Remus said. Sirius looked at him, slightly shocked, before nodding.

"I kept James and Lily's secret; I can keep this one too." Remus nodded, mentally preparing himself for Sirius' reaction; he could be a bit dramatic.

"Ginny told me she had a soul bond during one of our Patronus lessons, when her Patronus turned out to be a doe," Remus began.

"Ginny Weasley? As in, Harry's girlfriend?" Sirius asked. He nodded, knowing Sirius was smart enough to start connecting the dots.

"Do you remember me telling you about Harry's Patronus?" Sirius eyes widened and he gasped.

"It was a stag, just like James'." Remus smiled.

"Yes, it was. It was the pair for Ginny's. I was researching, to see if there was anything I could find that might help her. And I found that instead."

"I had thought we knew everything on soul bonds," Sirius said quietly.

"Oh, I did too, but that's not even half of what I learnt Padfoot."

"What else did you find out?"

"Well, Ginny was in a coma for 3 days because her mind, body and magic had to adjust to the loss of her other half. And I found out why Harry had a will."

"That's interesting. So, why did our pup have a will?"

"Well, you know how you are Lord Black and have to have a working will?"

"Yeah, all Lords need to have a working will, and some Ladies do too," Sirius confirmed.

"That's why." Sirius stared at him for a few minutes before it clicked.

"Harry was a Lord? How? He wasn't of age."

"Harry and Ginny have been considered emancipated minors/legal adults in the eye of the Old Laws and the goblins since Halloween last year, when their mind link formed. Apparently, the mind link in a soul bond makes the bond the strongest it can be and is a bond deeper than marriage, which also causes both people in the soul bond to become adults, meaning Harry was able to claim his Lordships and Ginny could claim the accompanying Ladyships," Remus explained. Sirius ran his hand through his hair, a sigh escaping his lips. He suddenly stilled, hand halfway through his hair for a second time.

"Did you say Lordships. As in plural?"

"Yeah." Remus shrugged.

"Didn't he just have the Potter Lordship?"

"Nope. Since Christmas, he was Lord Potter-Peverell-Gryffindor." Remus laughed as Sirius' jaw dropped. Soon enough, his laughter was joined by Sirius'. When they finally calmed down, Sirius grinned widely for the first time since June.

"Our pup never did anything in halves, did he?"


	55. Reunited

Ginny woke up on Christmas morning, a plan forming in her mind. She had gotten everyone a Christmas gift, except Sirius and Remus, but she now knew what they would appreciate most.

 **That's brilliant, Gin,** Harry said, obviously hearing her idea. Which wasn't hard, considering he was in her head.

**Thanks Harry.**

**Now you better hurry up before Ron comes pounding on the door.** Ginny laughed softly before getting up and moving to wake up Hermione. They both got changed into something more than just their night clothes and Ginny sent Hermione down before her.

She found a spare piece of parchment and carefully tore it in two, before writing the same note on both pieces, folding them up and sealing them with a tap of her wand. She wrote Sirius' name on one and Remus' name on the other, before calling Kreacher to put them with the other presents. That done, she headed downstairs and into the living room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. She was the last person who was staying in the house to arrive in the room and she sat down in the only available chair.

"Finally, Ginny," Ron said, his excitement clear.

"I had to finish one of the gifts that I didn't get finished last night," she replied. Ron nodded, seemingly happy with that answer.

"Shall we do presents or breakfast first?" her mum asked. Before anyone else could reply, Ron called out,

"Presents," very excitedly. Not having any objections to that plan, her mum waved her wand, sending all the presents to pile up in front of each person. The next few minutes were full of tearing paper and exclamations of thanks as everyone opened their presents.

She was happy with her gifts, her favourite being a broom servicing kit from Hermione and the annual sweater from her parents. She sat back in her chair, observing the room. The adults all had smaller piles of presents, but were opening them slowly, appreciating everything they were given. The other teens, on the other hand, had all opened their presents and were more closely examining them, or in Hermione's case, already reading.

Her eyes strayed to Remus and Sirius, noticing that they both only had her note left. She watched as they both unsealed their notes, their faces morphing into confusion. She understood that though, her note had been a bit vague.

_Meet me in the library after lunch. I have a gift that is best given in private. One that I am sure you will love._

The morning was spent just relaxing in the living room, talking, and laughing with the family and trying not to think about the missing person. After lunch, everyone parted ways, moving to different parts of the house to do whatever they wanted. Ginny waited for both Remus and Sirius to leave the living room before heading up to the library. She entered the library and headed over to where both men were sitting.

"Hi Remus, Sirius," she greeted, sitting down opposite them.

"Hello Ginny," Remus replied.

"Like your presents?" Sirius asked with a tight smile.

"They were nice, thank you for the advanced books, by the way. But I think that you will both like my present to you more."

"The note was from you then?" Remus asked. She nodded.

"What is the gift if it had to be given in private?" Sirius asked.

"Did Remus tell you what I told him near the end of term?" she asked, instead of answering.

"About you and H ... Harry having a soul bond? Yeah, he did." Ginny nodded. That would make this easier.

"Well, this has something to do with that. Do you both know some Occlumency or Legilimency?" she asked.

"I know Occlumency. All Blacks learnt it as children. And I taught Moony some," Sirius replied hesitantly, the question of why clear in his voice.

"That's good, it means this should work without hurting you. I need you to trust me." She held out both her hands, hoping that this would work. The remaining marauders didn't hesitate, and each took one of her hands.

"This may take a minute." She took a few deep breathes, closing her eyes and focusing on how she normally meditated to enter her mind. She pictured her magic wrapping around all three of them, rather than just herself, before pulling back into her mind. She opened her eyes and saw Remus and Sirius standing in front of her. She smiled; it had worked.

"Where are we Ginny?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"This is the entrance to my mind. I'm pretty sure it's more guarded, but you're with me so it's fine."

"Why are we in your mind?" Remus asked, looking around.

"Well, this is the present. Come on, follow me. And stay close, my mind is organised for me but may seem like a maze to you. I don't want you getting lost." She turned and headed to where she knew Harry would be waiting. He always stayed where the bond had been that connected their minds, unless she was there, or he was helping her control something, so that he didn't distract her from what she was doing.

She could hear Remus and Sirius following close behind her as she weaved her way through her mind. As they rounded the last corner, she heard two sharp intakes of breath from behind her. She glanced behind her, noticing that both Sirius and Remus were frozen, staring at Harry. She turned back to Harry and easily noticed the mixed emotions playing in his eyes.

"H ... Ha ... Harry?" Sirius asked, voice full of emotion.

"Hey Padfoot, hey Moony," Harry replied quietly, offering a smile. That clearly broke the dam as both men lost all decorum and sprinted at Harry, engulfing him in a hug. Ginny just watched, a small smile on her face. She was glad that she could do this for them. Eventually, Sirius and Remus released Harry, but stayed close at his side as he led them over to the two couches. He sat down, his guardians on either side, their arms wrapped around him still. Ginny followed, sitting down on the second couch.

"How?" Remus asked softly.

"We're not exactly sure. But we think it has something to do with the soul bond. From what we could find, Harry's soul found mine, its other half, when he died and attached itself to me," Ginny explained.

"We've figured out that Ginny and I can still talk through our minds, and that I can also take control of parts of Ginny's body with her permission. Ginny can also use my wand, which had bonded completely to me, at the same time as using hers, as well as me being able to perform spells at the same time as her," Harry continued.

"But we're still figuring things out. There's no information about anything like this happening before in any of the libraries that we've looked in so we're mainly guessing and experimenting," Ginny added. It took a few minutes for all the information to be fully absorbed by both Sirius and Remus.

"That does make sense now that I think about it. After finding your soul-bonded, your magical power increases. But, if your soul, which was too large to be one soul, reattached itself, that would explain all your excess magic and loss of control. And, this is just guessing, but Harry's soul may have found yours to prevent your soul fleeing to find his," Remus said slowly.

"What do you mean, my soul fleeing to find Harry's?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"Normally, two people who are soul-bonded die within the same month or two, or at least within the same year. If one person in the soul bond dies, the other person's soul tries to find the dead person's soul, to ease the pain of loosing their soul-bonded," Sirius explained.

"I guess that makes sense. And I'm glad I found her before she tried to find me," Harry said. From there, they just talked about inconsequential things, just enjoying each others company. They had been in Ginny's mind for almost 3 hours when she noticed the time.

"Um, I really hate to break this up, but we should get out of my mind. We've been in here for almost 3 hours and it would seem really weird for anyone who sees us for our bodies to have been unresponsive for so long," she said.

"I guess you're right," Sirius said, not looking like he wanted to leave yet.

"I might be able to bring you back in again another time if you want," she offered.

"That would be wonderful," Remus agreed, a few tears slipping down his cheeks. Harry got up, pulling Sirius and Remus with him, and hugged them tight.

"We'll see each other again soon. And I can always talk to you through Ginny, if she doesn't mind," Harry said, not releasing the two men. Sirius nodded, pulling away and pressing a kiss to the top of Harry's forehead. Harry took hold of both the marauders hand began walking to the entrance of Ginny's mind. Ginny followed just behind them, simply watching the family that had been through so much. Soon, they reached the entry and exit of her mind.

"I will always love you pup," Sirius said, hugging him tight.

"I love you cub," Remus said, hugging Harry after Sirius had let go.

"I love both of you too," Harry replied with a smile. Ginny moved forward and gave Harry a hug of her own before taking the hands that Harry had dropped.

"Come on," she said. With one more smile at Harry, she pulled all three of the out of her mind and back into reality. Remus and Sirius blinked a few times, coming back to themselves.

"Thank you, Ginny. Thank you so much," Sirius said, standing up and moving towards her, hugging her tight.

"You're welcome Padfoot. I thought you needed it," she replied. Sirius released her and moved back to his seat, leaning on Remus, his head on the other man's shoulder.

"Harry said that you can use two wands at once, and that he can cast at the same time as you. Would you be able to demonstrate?" Remus asked. Ginny nodded. She flicked both wrists and both wands shot into her hands, Harry's in her right and hers in her left. She summoned two of the books close by and set them on the side table.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she said, pointing one wand at each book. She then began to direct each book separately, causing them to lift to different heights and move in different ways. She slowly lowered both books back to the table, before banishing them back to their original shelf.

 **Patronus charm, Harry?** she asked, knowing he would probably be near the front of her mind still.

**Sounds good. Both silently?**

**Sure, let's shock them.** Together, they counted down from three, before both calling out the incantation in their head.

Their Patronuses burst from their wands, a doe and a stag, and circled the room, before coming to a stop in front of them. Remus and Sirius stared at the Patronuses as they slowly faded away.

"You can cast the Patronus charm silently?" Remus asked in awe.

"You can cast silently?" Sirius added.

"Well, I figured that if I could perform most charms silently after learning them, then I should be able to do that with the Patronus charm. And after figuring out how to cast one spell silently, it's easy to take over to different spells. I simply have to say the spell as if I'm talking to Harry, rather than out loud."

"Impressive," Sirius admitted after a few moments of silence. Ginny smiled.

"Thank you."

They spent another 30 minutes in the library, talking about what they had discovered through the bond, and with Ginny demonstrating some things, as well as trying to figure out more things. They discovered that Harry and Ginny could both cast separate spells at one time, no matter if Ginny cast out loud or silently. They could have spent a lot longer talking and exploring the bond but were interrupted by her mum calling up the stairs that dinner was ready. The three of them rose together and headed out of the library. Remus stopped them just before they left.

"Ginny, I can't thank you enough for what you did for us today. Letting us in to that secret, as well as allowing us into your mind. I just can't thank you enough," Remus said.

"You're welcome Remus. I knew how much it would mean and I trust you. Now we should get going, before mum comes up and drags us down." They all laughed at that and headed down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really appreciate all the comments and stuff, as they make my day. However, can you please stop asking when Harry will get a real body back. I will tell you all now the same thing that I have been saying when I reply to those comments. At the moment it doesn't look like Harry will be getting a physical body, at least not any time in the immediate future. There is a lot going on for Ginny and finding how to give Harry and actual body on top of all that would probably be too much. Maybe in the very very distant future though.


	56. Practice

Ginny's lessons with Remus continued after the break and Ginny found that she was finally able to keep her magic completely under control. Her lessons with Remus had also changed, developing from her working on more complex spells to Remus helping her and Harry on working as one.

Ginny bent over slightly, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Remus was leaning against his desk, wand moving over some of his injuries, healing himself. They had just finished a duel, something they had been doing every lesson now. It was really helping Harry and her work on working together while casting, as well as developing techniques to use while fighting.

Her breathing slowed and she straightened, casting an eye around the room, inspecting the damage they had caused during the duel. There was various scorch marks on the walls - Harry liked fire spells - as well as a small hole in the wall behind Remus, her Reducto having been more powerful than expected. There was also tables and chairs scattered around the sides, in various states, after Remus used them to protect himself and attack them.

She then looked down at herself, waving her wand slowly over her body, making all the cuts on her arms and torso heal, the deeper ones stitching themselves together while the shallow ones simply closed over. A second sweep with her own wand caused any burn she had to stop stinging and fade away, leaving no trace that fire had touched her. A final sweep over removed all the blood, dust and dirt from her body and clothes, making her look almost as good as new, except for the rips in her clothes that they would fix later.

When they had begun duelling, Remus had taught her lots of different healing spells, ranging from ones to heal cuts, to minor fractures, as well as how to identify injuries and bind serious breaks. They wanted to avoid the hospital wing as much as possible, to keep the questions to a minimum. Plus, Remus already knew the spells, having to heal himself after his monthly transformations. Thanks to those spells, she hadn't had to visit the hospital wing once, especially because they tried to avoid bone breaking spells, even if their blasting spells did result in fractures.

"That was really good guys," Remus said. Ginny smiled.

"Thanks. It's definitely getting easier for us to work together."

"That was the quickest time that it's taken you to beat me. I think that, soon, we might need to bring in a second opponent to make it more difficult for you two."

**I bet Siri would be happy to. I remember him saying he used to be an auror too, so he would make it more challenging.**

**That's a good idea.**

"Harry suggested asking Siri. He used to be an auror, right?"

"Yes, he did. He and James were partners, and they were almost unstoppable. I'll ask him, get him to come next week if he can. I'm not sure if he's actually found work or if he's just living off his family fortune." Ginny laughed at that, Harry's chuckle echoing in her head as well. Remus looked thoughtful for another moment before waving his wand, repairing the room around them, and pushing away from the desk.

"Let's go again." Ginny felt her body instinctively fall into her duelling stance, left leg planted further in front than her right, giving her a stable support. Her left arm was in front of her, bent slightly at the elbow so that her hand was directly where her heart was, wand in hand and pointing in front of her. Her right arm was bent up at the elbow, hand situated at head height, with Harry's wand still in its holster; this gave her more balance, as well as allowing them to keep the secret about her using two wands for the start of the duel, only bringing the second wand out if the duel showed no sign of stopping soon, although they always brought it out because it felt right to fight together.

She fired first, shooting off two stunners in a row. Remus sidestepped them, returning with multiple cutting hexes. She ducked, rolling on the ground, and standing up again. She shot a blasting hex at the floor in front of Remus, Harry making her take a few steps back so that she didn't get hit with any of the rubble. She threw a few stunners into the dust caused by the explosion, only for them to bounce off Remus' shield and fly back at her. She managed to dodge the first two stunners, having to throw up a shield for the third. It was time to start using some tricks.

"Incarcerous," Ginny called. At the same time, Harry hissed **incendio**. A jet of flames flew out of her wand, following the ropes that had appeared and causing them to catch fire, but not burn the rope (they had found that parsel fire could be more easily controlled by Harry's will, only burning what he wanted it to burn). Remus was able to put the fire out just in time, banishing the ropes as they began to wrap around him.

"Expulso," she called, deliberately mucking up the wand movement as Harry called out **stupefy**. Remus called over the table closest to him, using it as a shield to block any rubble from the explosion that wasn’t coming, and the wood took the stunning spell, creating a crack in the wood. Remus stood up, immediately going on the offensive. Ginny ducked and rolled, dodging the barrage of spells coming at her, trying not to raise as shield as that would drain her magic.

**Double** , Harry said and moved forward more, taking control of her right arm, and flicking her wrist, catching his wand. Together they countered Remus' spells and switched to offensive. Harry cast his favoured fire spells as well as some stunners and cutters, while Ginny countered any spell that Remus threw at them, and dodged, throwing the occasional explosion or stunner.

Together, they worked amazingly, but it was something that they didn't want to always rely on. At the moment though, they would always switch to it within three minutes of starting a duel. Ten minutes later, Remus was bound on the floor, stunned, with his wand safely in Ginny's right hand, Harry's wand having slipped back into its holster.

Ginny revived Remus, before releasing him from the ropes wrapped around him. Remus pushed himself off the ground and Ginny handed his wand back. Just like before, they both started healing themselves before fixing the room.

"One more before we finish for the night," Remus decided. Ginny nodded, easily slipping into her duelling stance again. She waited for Remus to shoot first, easily dodging the spells he sent at her. She spun, firing the bat bogey hex at him, following it with multiple cutters. He managed to dodge a few of the cutters, although he was hit by one and the bat bogey hex. In return, he threw multiple cutters, as well as a stunner and a blast of fire.

Ginny hissed as one of the cutters hit her in her left shoulder, only just managing to duck under the blast of fire while shielding from the other spells. She kept throwing spells at Remus as well as countering and dodging the ones he sent at her. She could feel the blood running down her arm from her shoulder, as well as from many other cuts on her torso, but ignored the stings they caused; she couldn't be distracted during a duel, not even if she was injured.

The duel continued and Harry moved forward, drawing his own wand, and beginning to shield, allowing her to focus on the offensive. Ginny could feel her body starting to tire, her magic starting to become heavier; just like it did when she used too much of it at once. Thankfully, her limit had improved greatly since the Christmas holidays and she would still be able to keep going for another half hour at least, before collapsing.

Ginny threw several silent distraction spells, ones that didn't require lots of power or attention, following them with several binders and stunners. Remus dodged the first few distraction spells and was focused on not getting hit by them, meaning that one of her stunners hit its mark, successfully ending the duel. She summoned his wand just to be sure, before reviving him.

"Nice distractions. You've come a long way and we'll definitely need Siri's help," Remus said, holding out his hand for his wand. She held it out for him, and he took it with a nod before they both turned their attention to their injuries. She focused on healing all the surface injuries, while Harry checked that she was ok internally.

**Going to need a blood replenisher, Gin. That shoulder wound is bleeding quite a lot.**

**Thanks Harry. That would explain the light-headedness.**

**A pepper-up would be a good idea too; you used a lot of magic.** Ginny rolled her eyes, but nodded, not that she needed Harry to tell her to take a pepper-up. She always did after these duelling sessions. She checked herself again making sure she was fully healed, satisfied to know she hadn't missed anything on her first check.

"I'm going to need a blood replenisher," she said. He nodded, grabbing the bottle out of a cupboard on the wall, passing it over along with the pepper-up. She drank the blood replenisher, the coppery taste remaining on her tongue even after she had swallowed it. She grimaced at the taste but knew that it didn't taste bad compared to other potions. She then nocked back the pepper-up, feeling the warmth travel through her and her magic feeling lighter, even as steam billowed from her ears.

"You should probably head back to the tower. Curfew is soon and I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Ok Professor. That's probably a good idea too, I still have some homework left," Ginny agreed.

"I don't want you putting your homework off for these sessions Ginny. Your schoolwork is still important, and I won't have you failing due to extra-curricular activities."

"I'm not putting off my homework, this is just an essay I got today that I need Hermione's help with, and she had class during my free period," Ginny assured him, grabbing her bag from the cupboard that held the potions and other things that they didn't want damaged during the duels; the cupboard was extremely warded to protect anything inside. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Ginny headed towards the door.

"Thanks Professor," she called over her shoulder, shutting the door behind her with a snap. She quickly made her way back to Gryffindor tower, very aware of the time. She reached the Fat Lady's portrait, pressing her hand against the wall, having forgotten to check the new password after lunch.

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't we, Lady Gryffindor?" the Fat Lady asked.

"I know, I know, we were busy," she replied tiredly as the portrait opened, allowing her to stumble through. She wasn't sure if she would get through her homework, even with the pepper-up. They'd duelled for longer than normal, hence her being extra tired, not that she was complaining; it would help her with her endurance in the long run.

She made her way over to Hermione and Ron, who were sitting around the fire, books surrounding them as they worked.

"Hey guys," she said, dumping her bag and collapsing into a chair.

"Hey Ginny," Ron said absently, staring at his parchment as though it would simply tell him what he had to write.

"Where were you Ginny? You've disappeared more and more in the evenings," Hermione asked, looking up. "You look exhausted."

"I'm fine. Or at least, I'll be fine after I, haa aah, sleep it off." She tried to wave Hermione's concern off, only to be interrupted by a yawn.

"Where have you been going Gin? Hermione's right, you keep disappearing," Ron added, moving his attention from his half-finished essay to her. Ginny sighed, before realising she wasn't getting away from the question.

"I've been having private lessons with Professor Lupin. He's been helping extend me."

"How long have these lessons been going on for?"

"Since ... end of September ... I think," she said, trying to remember. It had been after Umbitch's inspections, and that had been around third week.

"Can I ask why you have private lessons with him?" Ron asked, looking concerned.

"To help extend me Ron, duh." At his blank look she sighed again. "The week that Umbitch – yes Hermione, I am still standing by that name, she deserves it – was inspecting all my classes, remember how I told you that he gave me and Luna an extension activity because we managed the shield charm well before the rest of our class. I managed to complete the activity, despite the fact that it's well above my year level, so he asked if I wanted extra lessons to extend on that. I said yes. And they picked up to twice, sometimes three times, a week since the holidays."

"What was the activity?" Hermione asked, leaning forward eagerly, all her homework seemingly forgotten.

"Hermione, can I explain in the morning. I'm really tired and you both have homework to do," she tried.

"Tomorrow's the weekend, you can sleep in and we can do this tomorrow," Hermione said. Ron and Ginny both gapped at her for a moment, and Ginny could tell that Harry was just as surprised.

**Hermione, putting off homework. Guess there is a first time for everything,** he commented.

**Hush you,** Ginny chided, trying not to laugh at his comment.

"Ginny, I think you better tell us. Hermione never suggests putting off homework," Ron said, a serious look on his face. She glared at them both for a while before relenting.

"Fine, but you have to keep this quiet."

"I won't tell," Ron said, shrugging.

"Promise," Hermione added sincerely. Ginny nodded, drawing her wand and casting a silencing charm, something Remus had taught her, saying it was useful for private conversations, around the three of them.

"Ok. I can already cast silently."


	57. Revelations

"I can cast silently," she said. She waited for the outburst that should follow that, surprised when one didn't come. 

"You can what?" Hermione asked. Ron just stared blankly at her. 

"I can cast silently. Nonverbal spells," she said again. 

"That's a NEWT level skill. Even adults struggle with that," Hermione said, confusion evident on her face. 

"Wait, you can cast without speaking?" Ron verified. Ginny nodded.

"Can I explain more in the morning. I'm really tired right now," she said. Hermione looked her over a few times and nodded. 

"Yes, go to bed Ginny. You look like you're going to fall asleep on your feet," Hermione said. 

"Sleep well Ginny. We'll talk more tomorrow," Ron agreed. Ginny smiled, standing up and heading up to her dorm. She was asleep as soon as she collapsed on her bed, physical and magical exhaustion pulling her into the land of dreams.

Ginny headed down into the common room the next morning feeling much more refreshed than the night before. She found Ron and Hermione waiting for her in the common room. When they saw her, they moved towards the portrait hole with her, heading down to breakfast together. They sat together at the end of the table and Ginny erected the silencing charm like she had the night before.

"Ok, what do you want to know?" Ginny asked as she filled her plate. 

**You've done it now. Hermione's going to bombard you with questions,** Harry commented, a touch of laughter in his voice. Ginny sent him exactly what she thought of his comment (an action that would have gotten her severe reprimands had her mum seen), causing him to burst out laughing. She rolled her eyes at his actions, paying attention to Hermione.

"How long have you been able to cast silently? How did you do it? What spell did you learn first? Can you do it for all your spells? What other things have you learnt in your extra lessons? Can you teach me?"

"Hold on Hermione, let the girl answer," Ron said, chuckling as he filled his own plate. Harry was still laughing in her head. Ginny finished her mouthful before turning to Hermione. 

"I've been able to cast silently since the third week of the year. Professor Lupin set Luna and I the task of trying to do the shield charm silently, after we both got it in only a few tries. We spent the rest of the lesson on it and I managed to cast silently at the end of the lesson, managing to silently disarm Luna. I repeated that when I showed Professor Lupin and that's when he offered me extra lessons." Ginny stopped to make sure Hermione was following, taking another bite of her toast and taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Did Luna manage to cast silently?" Ron interjected. Ginny shook her head. 

"No, she didn't. But I had an advantage, one I'll explain later in private. That advantage was how I managed to do it the first time and from then I was just able to do it again. And I can do it for most spells that I can already do and can do it for most spells after I have almost mastered them verbally. And no, I can't teach you because, again, I have an advantage that allowed me to learn that skill easier than most would." She stopped again, waiting for Hermione's nod. 

"What advantage?"

"Something to do with what we discussed during the summer. But it's something I have to show you and I don't think I'm able to yet. Anyway, Professor Lupin has been teaching me more advanced spells, spells from NEWT courses. Something happened during the holidays and our lessons changed and now that he's taught me healing spells, we do a lot of duelling." She turned back to her meal, finishing her breakfast while she allowed the others to go through everything she had said. 

Once they were all finished, Ginny removed the silencing charm and they headed back to the common room. 

"Would we be able to watch one of your lessons with Professor Lupin?" Ron asked. 

"I don't know. I'd have to ask him. Why?"

"It would be fascinating to see what you've been learning," Hermione remarked.

"It'd be cool to see a real duel," Ron answered at the same time. 

"I'd have to ask, but I'm sure he'd say yes, except that it might be a bit dangerous, we don't really hold back. I'm not sure how big the protective wards can be." They continued up to the tower in silence. They reached the common room and Ginny made note of the password; she didn't want to have to use her ring if she didn't need to in case anyone saw. Once they entered, Ginny immediately led them up to Ron's room, seeing as he couldn't come into her or Hermione's rooms. She closed the door behind them, after making sure the other boys weren't in the dorm, locking and warding the door closed. She sat down on the bed that had used to belong to Harry, while Ron sat on his bed, the one next to Harry's. Hermione sat down next to Ron.

"What's this, advantage Gin?" Ron asked. "You keep mentioning something that you talked to Hermione about over the summer and I have no clue what you're talking about." Ginny took a deep breath, preparing to tell them everything. Or, as much as she felt comfortable sharing.

"Sorry Hermione, I have to start from the start, so you'll know the stuff at the start. Ok, so. Harry and I have a soul bond Ron. We were meant for each other. Nothing forced us to be together, and if we hadn't done anything to activate the bond, we wouldn't have ever known. However, we did activate the bond, when we started dating just after Easter in my second year, Harry's third. Well, the bond didn't actually snap into place until we first kissed, but that's besides the point.

"Anyway, over the holidays Harry and I did as much research as we could about what type of bond we had. Harry managed to find out that we had a soul bond and what it meant. Our souls are basically one large soul, too large to be in one body. The soul split and went into two bodies. Apart, we are whole and fine on our own, together we could be immensely powerful. After the bond activated, we began to gain abilities from it. We began being able to feel each others emotions, and then being able to tell where the other was. 

"When Harry's name came out, everything was so stressful that the next stage of our bond was able to activate. We began being able to communicate telepathically; talking in our minds. Our powers slowly grew as our souls shared power and together our magic would have been much larger than most. That's why when Harry died, I reacted so badly.

"When he died, my very being was ripped apart. His soul, which had bonded with mine, was ripped away, the connection we had cut. Everything that we shared was gone. I passed out to allow for my body, mind, and magic to adjust to the difference. On Harry's birthday, something else happened though. Another part of the bond developed, I began being able to see magical traces, like Harry could. Part of the bond meant that we could be able to develop unique abilities that our partner had, and I didn't think that it would keep developing without Harry.

"Another thing you should know, Ron, is that when Harry and I developed the mind connection, according to the Old Laws we became adults, and we were connected in a deeper way than married and Gringotts recognises it as a marriage even though it is a deeper connection than magic. This means that I am actually Ginny Potter, Lady to the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter and Peverell, and Lady to the Imperial and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor." At this, Ginny released the glamours from the rings and held her hand up, showing the three crests to Ron. Ron leant forward, squinting at the rings before leaning back again. Ron took a deep breath before nodding. 

"Do Mum and Dad know?"

"No. Harry and I weren't going to tell anyone; a soul bond is an extremely personal thing and most people keep it quiet. The only person who knew before Harry died was Fleur because she could see the bond."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know." She sighed. 

"Continue, Ginny," Hermione suggested. Ginny nodded. 

"Ok, so this is where things are new for you, Hermione. After coming back to school, my magic began to grow, and I began to lose control of it. My control of my magic became that of a first year. My magic hadn't just grown like it would with the soul bond, it had almost doubled. I found out why after my last detention with Umbitch. 

"The detentions I got were because I lost control of my magic and it slammed into her after she insinuated that Harry had gotten killed due to his own inability. So, in detentions, she made me do lines of 'I must control my temper every night'. But not with my quill. And every night, I would use the excess magic to wrap around my hand, trying to heal it. On the Saturday after the detentions, I unwrapped my hand from my magic and the bandages, only for Harry to say that it looked painful."

"Excuse me, but why did you have to heal yourself after each detention? It was only lines," Ron said, immediately going into protective brother mode. 

"Did you say Harry said something? Ginny, Harry's dead," Hermione added softly, focussing on the last part of her story. 

"Yes Hermione, that is what I said. And Ron, I had to heal myself because I wasn't using my quill. I was using one of Umbitch's." She held up her hand, letting them see the faint lines on her skin, spelling out the line that she had been forced to carve into her hand night after night. It was only faint lettering, only visible because she had curled her hand into a fist, making the scars shine white. Ron leaned in again, getting a closer look at her hand, Hermione leaning forward as well.

"That bitch!" Ron exclaimed. 

"What happened?" Hermione asked, concern creeping into her voice. 

"The quill carved into my hand, cutting down and using my blood to write the lines. This is as healed as I can get it, none of the healing spells that I've tried will work and I don't really want to go to Madam Pomphrey. It's not like it's noticeable or painful." She shrugged. 

"But that's barbaric."

"That Bitch!" Ron repeated. 

"And that's what made her nickname stick," Ginny agreed. 

"Back to how Harry talked to you," Hermione said, bringing them back on track. Ginny nodded.

"Yeah. He talked to me like he used to through our mind connection. I freaked out at first before we slowly tried to work out what had happened. Harry still thought it was June. He'd been in blackness since he had been hit with the killing curse, until he focussed on me and was able to pull himself into my mind. We began to experiment with some things, working on existing together and stuff. 

"During the holidays, Harry convinced me to tell Sirius and Remus about the bond and the fact that he was still alive and in my mind. I brought them into my mind, and we all spent time in there with Harry. We figured out that Harry's soul had fled to its other half, to me, after being hit with the killing curse, rather than making my soul go find his. We also found out that Lily and James had a soul bond, meaning we didn't have to explain much to Remus and Sirius. 

"Remus had actually guessed, after seeing how my Patronus is a pair with Harry's. Apparently, having complementary Patronuses that are deer, almost always mean that you have a soul bond. Anyway, since Remus found out, our lessons progressed to duels and he also helps Harry and I work together more. Understand everything?" Ron nodded while Hermione frowned slightly.

 **Oh no. That's her thinking face,** Harry deadpanned. Sometimes Ginny wished that Harry had a physical body, just for times like these. It was hard to hit him over the head when he said stupid things when he was in her mind. 

"What did you mean by, Harry's soul finding yours so yours didn't go find his?" Hermione asked slowly.

"I meant that I should have died by now." At their shocked and horrified looks, Ginny hurried on with her explanation. "Normally, when one person in a soul bond that has been activated dies, the other person collapses, like I did, to allow their body, mind, and magic to adjust. However, the person who is still living normally dies within a few months, if not weeks of the other dying. Even though their body, mind, and magic adjust to not having their other half alive, their soul doesn't, ending up with their soul leaving to find the other half, causing them to die. Or at least to only live in the same way as someone who had been given the dementor's kiss," she added as an afterthought.

"How does all of that help you with silent casting?" Ron asked.

"I simply cast the spells in my head, like I would when I'm talking to Harry, rather than out loud like I'm talking to someone face to face," she explained. Ron nodded and Hermione frowned slightly, probably because she wouldn't be able to use that method when she learnt non-verbal casting.

"You said that you took Professor Lupin and Sirius into your mind to spend time with Harry. Could you do that for us?" Hermione asked quietly. Or she could have been frowning because of that.

"I'm sorry Hermione, but I don't think I could. Neither of you know any Occlumency or Legilimency. If I tried, I'd probably end up hurting you."

 **Maybe you could let me speak to them. Just for a short while,** Harry suggested.

 **Ok. I'll suggest it. Just mouth, or body as well?** She asked. It was a good idea, and she felt more comfortable letting Harry take control now. They had worked through it together slowly to help her become more comfortable and not flashback to Riddle possessing her. He just had to let her know he was doing it and which parts he was taking control of. "

Would you like to talk to him? He can take control of my body and speak to you," she offered.

"Really? That would be amazing," Ron said eagerly. Ginny nodded. She felt Harry move forward and allowed herself to drift backwards into her mind, becoming a viewer while still being present and able to feel everything Harry was doing.

"Hey mate, Mione," Harry said. Hermione burst into tears, flinging herself off the bed and onto them. Harry brought her arms up, wrapping Hermione in a hug while Hermione sobbed into his shoulder. He looked up slightly, opening one arm to allow Ron to rush over, joining the hug. They stayed like that for a while, the three best friends simply hugging. Eventually, Hermione and Ron pulled back, Hermione wiping the tears off her face.

"It's been so different without you mate," Ron said. Ginny felt Harry smile, causing Ron to return the gesture.

"I missed you Harry. We all missed you," Hermione said.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, we just didn't know how. We'll talk to Remus, yeah, get him to let you watch us duel. Maybe you guys can join in some of the lessons, if you have the free time, what with OWLs and everything," Harry suggested.

"Sounds great mate," Ron agreed. Hermione worried her lip slightly before nodding in agreement.

"I'd like that, but maybe only once a week, so we can still study," Hermione agreed. There was a knock at the door and all three heads snapped around.

"I have to go, Ginny has to take over again, she's getting restless. I don't think we'll be able to do this again; not soon at least." Hermione nodded and Ron moved forward, clapping them on the back. Ginny felt Harry retreating slowly and took a step forward, taking control of her body again. She shook her head.

"No matter how many times we do that, it is always a weird experience," she noted. The person at the door knocked again and Ginny waved her wand, bringing down the wards and charms around the room, as well as unlocking the door. Dean and Seamus walked into the room, casting curious glances at the three of them.

"Come on Hermione, you can help me with the homework you were going to help me with last night," she decided, grabbing Hermione's hand, and dragging her out of the room.

"We can leave Ron to answer any questions the boys have." Hermione laughed, following her up to their dorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I'm sorry to say that the updates on Wednesdays are going to have to stop for a few weeks. School has recently gone back to face to face learning rather than online, meaning that I have less time to work on this. The Wednesday updates will come back, sometime during the December, most likely. Thank you all for reading.


	58. Spectators

During the weekend, Ginny had approached Remus and asked him if Hermione and Ron could observe their lesson on Monday as they had both seemed so eager, for different reasons. Remus had agreed, so, after dinner on Monday, Ginny led the two of them to the classroom used for their lessons.

"How do these lessons work?" Hermione asked eagerly, keeping step with her.

"We go over a few spells, with Remus teaching me either a new spell or two, or going over more spells silently. Then we duel until just before curfew. I don't think that we'll be doing the spells section today though, since you and Ron are spectating and the spells section would probably be boring for you," Ginny said.

"I wouldn't mind seeing how you learn different spells; it would help us learn as well."

"Yeah, well, Professor Lupin runs the lessons and directs them, I don't get a say in what we do. Unless I collapse from magical exhaustion, then I get to say we're done."

"Has that happened?" Ron asked, quickening his pace until he was walking on her other side rather than trailing behind.

"Only once, or was it twice? I can't really remember. I've learnt how to tell when I'm getting close to collapse though, so it doesn't happen anymore." She shrugged, it didn't bother her and when she had collapsed a pepper-up and an energy booster gave her enough energy to get up to her dormitory, with Remus escorting her to make sure she didn't collapse on the way to the tower.

Ginny stopped outside the right door. She knocked, the door swinging open for her. She walked in, dumping her bag in the cabinet like always before taking her place opposite the desk that Remus was leaning against. The tables and chairs were already stacked against the left wall, the rest of the room already ready for duelling. On the right side of the room, a black line was drawn about half a metre from the wall and she could see the glistening magic rising up from the line.

"Hello Ron, Hermione. Behind the black line if you would. There are protection wards around that area, to keep the errant spell fire and rubble away from you, to keep you safe. We'll be starting soon, we're just waiting for our last member to arrive," Remus said, waving Hermione and Ron behind the line and the magics stretching from the floor to roof. They both moved to the wall as they were told, just as the fire behind the desk flared, spitting Sirius out into the room.

"Hey Remus, Ginny, Harry. Oh, hi Hermione, Ron," Sirius said, standing up and brushing soot off his clothes.

"What're you doing here Sirius?" Ron asked as Sirius moved to stand next to them behind the black line marking the wards.

"I'm here to help Moony, but first I need to see how they work."

"Are you joining us at all this session Padfoot, or just observing for today?" Ginny asked, rolling her wand between her hands.

"I may join in after the first duel or two."

"How do these wards work?" Hermione asked, examining the few runes on the ground that stabilized the ward.

"They'll catch any spells and absorb them and stop anything solid like a wall would," Remus explained, pushing himself off the desk and taking a few steps forward, bringing his wand into his hand.

 **Let me try this on my own?** she asked. She didn't want to show Ron, Hermione, or Sirius their added advantage yet.

 **Don't let Siri know our advantage before duelling him? Sounds good,** Harry agreed.

 **He already knows that we can cast together and separately,** she reminded him.

 **Eh, he doesn't know we can do it in a duel and he's probably forgotten,** Harry said, sending her an image of him shrugging. Ginny gave Harry a smile before turning her attention to Remus.

"Ready?" Ginny asked, falling into her duelling stance. Remus nodded, falling into his own stance. Ginny threw the first spell, shooting off multiple blasting spells, followed by cutters. She ignored Hermione's reactions to the spells she threw silently, completely focused on the duel. She twisted out of the way of Remus' return fire, before casting again, throwing more cutters and blasters with a few stunners amidst the rest of the spells. She ducked under the wide fire that Remus threw at her, rolling out of the way of the binding spells thrown under the fire.

"Stupefy," she called, the stunning spell shooting out of her wand at the same time as a silent Bombarda. Remus shielded against the stunner, missing the silent exploding spell that hit the floor in front of him, causing him to be thrown backwards into the desk behind him. She took that opportunity to throw stunner after stunner at Remus, a few binding spells breaking up the steady stream of stupefies.

Ginny could just make out Remus figure as he shielded against the barrage of spells through the dust, directing her spells around where she thought the shield was. He rolled to the side, slowly getting back to his feet with the help of the desk, keeping his shield up as he did. Ginny saw the many wounds that the blast had caused, taking note that he was bleeding in a few places but not letting it distract her. Remus summoned one of the tables from the side of the room, bracing himself behind it even as she continued throwing spells at it.

Remus emerged from behind the table, standing up straight and sending a torrent of spells back at her. He banished the table towards her as she was busy countering the spells thrown at her, forcing her to throw herself to the side so as to avoid the table. She threw distraction spells at Remus, hiding stunners, cutters and blasters amidst the colourful lights and random spells. The spells were cast in such a wide range that he wasn't able to dodge them and there were so many that his shield wasn't able to hold. Remus was hit by a cutter in his right arm and his face, while a blasting spell hit the wall beside his head, making him stumble to the side.

Remus responded by throwing back a large number of spells much like she had. However, she had an advantage of being able to distinguish the slight different in shade of the distraction spells with the ones that she had to avoid, from a large amount of practice, letting her dodge and shield in the right spots while letting the unharmful ones hit her and the wall behind. She twisted around the last spell, throwing out a few stunners and cutters, a few stinging hexes amongst the other spells. One of the stinging hexes hit the top of his wand hand, causing him to drop his wand. Ginny quickly summoned his wand, sending off a number of binding spells. He wasn't able to dodge them all, causing the duel to end with him tied up on the ground.

"Nice job Ginny," Ron said. Ginny smiled, allowing her body to relax slightly from the tenseness that came from the duel, the adrenaline dropping.

"Thanks," she replied, giving her brother a smile before she turned to Remus and casting the spell to untie him and throwing his wand back. Remus nodded, picking his wand up and standing up, brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Nicely done. And all single too," Remus commented. Ginny smiled.

"Of course. Could have been done quicker but we wanted to see if we could." Together, both of the duellers turned their attention to their bodies, starting to heal any injuries they got, although Remus' injuries were larger than Ginny's, mainly from the blasting spell.

"Chuck me a blood replenisher," Remus requested, and Ginny nodded, moving towards the cupboard, being closer than the Professor, and pulling out the blood red potion, moving over to hand it to him.

"That was an impressive duel," Hermione commented once they were both finished healing themselves.

"And you got annihilated Moony. I can see why you need my help," Sirius added.

"Going to help then Padfoot?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

"Sure." Sirius pulled his wand out, stepping over the ward line and moving over so he was next to Remus.

"2 against 1, is that really fair?" Ron asked.

"Not really, but it'll be fun," Ginny replied with a shrug. **Plus, I won't be alone,** she added in her head, causing Harry to laugh at that thought.

 **Alone, aid or both?** Ginny though for a moment on Harry's question.

 **I reckon we go with aid to start with until we get a feel for Siri's style and favoured spells before switching to both,** she replied.

**Sounds good. You give the signal for the change.**

**Second wand in hand calls for you go offensive; bat bogey hex calls for you to go defensive.**

**I'll wait for the signal then,** Harry said, and Ginny gave him a nod as she moved into her duelling stance, waiting for Remus and Sirius to finish their talk and give the go ahead.

"Normal rules," Remus said. She nodded. That simply meant nothing life threatening and try to avoid breaking bones. Sirius and Remus fell into their own stances and Remus fired the first spell, Sirius casting not far behind. Ginny ducked, sidestepped, and twisted out of the way of the multitude of spells coming at her, returning fire with her own spells.

"Incarcerous," she called, watching the ropes fly out of her wand and set ablaze as Harry hissed **incendio** \- it was one of their favourite moves. Sirius eyes widened as the ropes flew at him and began wrapping around his legs while still ablaze. He hastily cast water charms at the ropes with no success, trying to put the fire out. Ginny turned her attention away from Sirius, knowing he would be occupied for a while and that Harry was focusing on the strength of the fire, as she focused on sending cutters at Remus.

Ginny tried blasting Remus back, but he countered the blasting spell before it hit the ground before creating a full body shield so that he could try and help Sirius. Harry let the fire heat up, burning the ropes into ash after Remus freed Sirius, so that the fire ropes couldn't be thrown back at them. Together, the two men threw spell after spell at them, making Ginny fall back onto the defensive, dodging and shielding constantly so as to not be hit. Even so, a few spells got threw but she didn't pay any attention to the cuts or burns that she gained. She was forced back by the barrage of spells as she cast shield after shield after shield. She let Harry's wand fall into her hand.

Harry took the signal, moving forward and beginning to cast spell after spell as Ginny focused on her shields. Harry's spells were all directed at Remus, causing Remus to drop off the offensive and allowing Ginny to only have to shield from one person rather than two. Harry's spells eventually wore Remus down as Sirius continued firing, and Remus ended up stunned. Harry turned his attention to attacking Sirius, but Sirius threw an overpowered blasting spell into the floor between them, causing rubble to fly and the air to be filled with dust. Ginny managed to summon a table and duck behind it just in time to avoid the flying rubble.

Together, her and Harry cleared majority of the dust from the air and Ginny managed to squint through the remaining dust just in time to dodge the oncoming spells. Harry focused on clearing the air while Ginny dodged, ducked, twisted, and rolled out of the way of the oncoming spells. When the air finally cleared, they were able to see that the spells were coming from both Sirius and Remus.

 **Damn it, Sirius revived Remus,** Ginny moaned as she threw up another shield to hold back the oncoming stunners.

 **Take their wands after downing them,** Harry noted in response, all the while still firing off spells in retaliation. It had taken ages for them to work out how to communicate while not getting distracted and continuing the duel all at the same time, but they had gotten there. Ginny ducked and rolled out of the path of a widespread impedimenta and, in a split-second decision, started throwing spells at the pair as well. She continued dodging the spells while casting her own as well.

 **You focus on Siri, I'll take Remus,** Harry decided. Ginny nodded, turning her attention to the Grim animagus. She threw binding spells at him while blasting spells were thrown at the ground, and stunners and cutters were peppered in the mix. Meanwhile, Harry cast fire spells, disarmers, stunners, and impedimentas at Remus.

Remus and Sirius quickly caught on to their new strategy and adapted to it. Remus fell back, casting shields in front of Sirius while Sirius kept fighting. A stinging hex hit her left hand, and, on reflex, her hand opened, causing her wand to fall to the ground. She shook her hand and went to pick it up, only for it to be summoned away from her, straight to Remus. This left her to focus on not getting hit while Harry attacked, unable to rely on shields.

They managed to keep going for another minute before she was unable to avoid the multiple binders and freezers sent at her, causing her to fall to the ground, frozen and her legs bound together, her arms also tied to her side. Remus came over and untied her before unfreezing her. She shook herself off and accepted the wand that he handed her. Harry sheathed his wand, moving back so that he wasn't controlling her right arm anymore.

With the battle over, the adrenaline left her, and she winced, feeling the pain of the injuries appear fiercer than they had been during the duel. She turned her attention to the injuries all over her body, wincing again when she took in the damage to her body. She ran her wand over her body, closing the cuts lining her arms and face, before removing the blood that was dripping from all the wounds. She healed the burns as best she could, but a few of them were worse than she could heal, and she was pretty sure she would need a healing cream for them. There was also a large welt on her left hand from the stinging hex that she had no clue how to heal. Satisfied that she was as healed as she could get herself, she turned to face the two men.

"Nice fight," Sirius said with a nod as he let Remus heal him.

"It was definitely harder with two opponents," she admitted, rubbing a hand across her face.

"You did really well to hold as long as you did," Remus said.

"And we lost. That's the first time we've lost since we perfected our double act," she said.

"Yes, it was a nice change to win again," Remus agreed.

"That was amazing to watch," Hermione exclaimed.

"What was with the whole second wand thing?" Ron asked.

"Harry joined the fight. He controlled my right arm and fought with his wand while I controlled the rest of my body and used my wand," she explained.

 **Gin sit down before you collapse,** Harry admonished. She was about to wave him off until she realised that her legs were shaking quite badly, and she was getting slightly dizzy. She summoned a chair and collapsed onto it.

 **Ok, why am I getting dizzier? I healed all the cuts I could see and feel, so I shouldn't still be bleeding,** she asked Harry as her head became a slightly fuzzier.

"I need a blood replenisher before I collapse. I think I'm still losing blood but I'm not sure where; Harry's checking," she called and Remus nodded, grabbing the needed potion and passing it to her with a pepper-up, handing the same two potions to Sirius and keeping the same for himself. She drank the two potions and felt the light-headedness retreat and her legs stop shaking, although she stayed sitting.

"How did you do the rope on fire?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"It was bloody cool," Ron said.

"Yeah, I want to know too. I could not put that blasted fire out. It was weird; very hot, but barely burned me," Sirius added, rubbing his legs where the slight burns had been before Remus had healed them.

"It was Parsel fire. Harry cast it as I created the ropes and because it was in Parsel, he was able to control what they burned and how much they burned," she replied tiredly. Fighting two people was definitely a lot more effort than fighting one and she didn't think she could do another duel, even though she could do three or four 1 on 1 duels now.

 **Large cut behind your shoulder; no idea how what caused it. The blood is started to clot so it's not bleeding very fast anymore,** Harry said, and she nodded. She slowly waved her wand behind her, sealing the cut, that she still couldn't feel, closed. She cleaned the blood off her clothes and skin and nodded; she felt better.

"I have a few burns that I can't heal much more; I think they were second degree. And I have a welt," she said, holding her hand up for Remus to see. Remus nodded and moved towards the cupboard again, grabbing some containers from inside. He handed her a blue container and she opened it. Inside was a thick cream that smelt of fire; she wasn't going to question why it smelt that way.

"This is for the burns. It will take two or three days of being applied morning and night for the burns to fully heal," he explained. He then took the second container and let three drops fall onto the welt. "And the welt should be gone by the morning." She nodded again.

"Thanks." She pushed herself off the chair, summoning her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "Definitely done for the day." Sirius laughed and Remus gave her a smile.

"I agree. Two opponents will drain you a lot quicker. Still on for Wednesday?" Remus asked.

"Of course."

"Can you teach us too?" Hermione begged.

"I'd be happy to, but we'll only go once a week; you have your OWLs this year and need to study. Come by on Friday for your first session," Remus said. Hermione and Ron agreed and together with Ginny, they left the room, the two spectators discussing what they had seen during the duels while Ginny just listened.


	59. Detention Again

Over the rest of the year, Umbridge continued to fill in for Professor Lupin when he was out due to the full moon and Ginny managed to stay out of detentions with the toad, for the most part. Every time that Umbitch covered one of the Gryffindor fourth year classes, she would always try to get a rise out of Ginny, even while forcing them to sit through the class and read the textbook, rather than doing practicals like Lupin did - she said that it was Ministry approved, unlike the curriculum that Professor Lupin, and all their other DADA teachers, followed. Ginny had managed to keep a tight reign on her temper and magic, focussing on talking to Harry whenever the toad got started.

Once, though, halfway through April, Ginny had been so focused on her conversation with Harry that Umbridge had gone on a rant about her being disrespectful and ignoring a teacher, finishing her rant by giving Ginny a detention for not being respectful and ignoring a teacher. Harry had to half take over just to control their magic and stop Ginny lunging at the toad. He didn't want her to get any more detentions.

That night, Umbitch had kept Ginny for even longer than she had before. Ginny had reported to her office at five-thirty like she had been told, rather than seven like she had had to during her first lot of detentions with the toad. She had been kept for hours, being forced to carve into her hand for 5 hours. As she started on the seventh page, her writing began to become larger and messier, her hand not as easily controlled as normal. There was a slight fog beginning to descend into her mind, making it harder and harder for her to focus on the words she was writing.

"You can go." Ginny dropped the quill and grabbed her bag and the parchment without even looking at Umbitch, stumbling to the door, completely forgetting to clean up her blood. Her head was becoming even foggier and she had trouble walking.

Harry quickly took her arms into his control, shoving the parchment in her bag and grabbing the bandage from her bag and wrapping her heavily bleeding hand up tightly, trying to stop the flow of blood. He knew that Ginny had grabbed an extra blood replenisher during their latest session with Remus, but he couldn't remember if she had put it in her bag or left it next to her bed, and if she had packed it he had no clue which pocket it was in. As Ginny continued to stumble slowly through the halls, Harry felt her slowly drifting out of consciousness. She had pushed him aside during the detention, making it so he couldn't feel the pain that she could, so his small section of her mind was still clear and focused. Harry cleared enough of the fog that had taken up her mind that he could take full control of her body.

Harry stumbled, catching their body just as Ginny went completely unconscious. He knew he didn't have long until their body shut down along with Ginny's mind, so he forced the tired and heavy body to continue quickly through the halls. He made it to the portrait hall before their body completely shut down and he collapsed to the ground, no strength left in their legs. He leant against the wall, not able to even have enough strength to make it into the common room. He felt himself loosing consciousness as the fog taking up all of Ginny's mind invaded his small space. The last thing he knew before he descended into blackness was the portrait hole swinging open and a gasp from above him.

Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George were the only ones left in the common room. Hermione and Ron were waiting for Ginny to come back, knowing she had had a detention with Umbridge, while Fred and George were making notes about one of their latest prank products that they had invented.

"How much longer do you think she'll be?" Ron asked, worried for his little sister. No matter how strong she was, he always worried about her, especially after none of them, apart from Percy, had noticed something was wrong during her first year.

"I don't know Ron. She normally got back around 11 at the latest last time, but that was when her detention started later," Hermione replied, rolling up the essay she had just finished writing. Ron looked up from his half-finished essay and over to the portrait hole again. He opened his mouth again, but was cut off when a voice called out from above the fireplace. He looked up and saw the Fat Lady was standing in a space that was normally empty above the fireplace.

"I need help out here. Anyone," she called.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Lady Gryffindor. She just collapsed right outside." Ron and Hermione shot to their feet instantly.

"Ginny!" they exclaimed together, rushing over to the portrait hole. Hermione pushed the portrait open, a gasp escaping her as she saw Ginny collapsed right next to the portrait hole. She stepped out, Ron quickly following her.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked faintly. Hermione didn't answer, having no clue herself. Instead, she pointed her wand at Ginny and muttered a spell. Ginny lifted off the ground and Hermione directed her through the portrait hole and into the common room, gently placing her on the couch. Fred and George had rushed over and were examining Ginny carefully even as Ron and Hermione climbed back into the common room.

"What's wrong with her?" Fred asked.

"I don't know," Ron said hollowly. Hermione moved over next to Ginny, picking up her left hand, which was hanging off the couch, palm facing out.

"It's something to do with her hand," Hermine said, motioning to the bandage wrapped tightly and messily around her left hand.

"But why would that have made her collapse," George demanded. Hermione gently picked her hand up, turning it over to display the top of her hand. Her arm was covered in dried blood and the top of the bandage had blood slightly soaked through it.

"She had detention with Umbridge tonight," Ron said faintly, suddenly remembering what she had shown them after Christmas, saying it was from detention.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the twins demanded together.

"Everything." Hermione gasped, obviously coming to the same realisation as Ron already had. Hermione turned and ran up the stair to the girl's dorms, moving quickly and quietly into Ginny's dorm. She remembered Ginny mentioning having a blood replenisher next to her bed that morning. She grabbed the bottle, hurrying back down the stairs. Ron had already found another bandage hanging half out of her bag and was rebandaging her hand and the twins were slowly cleaning the blood from her arm.

"I found the extra bandage at the top of her bag. The bleeding has stopped, or at least slowed a lot," Ron told her as she tipped the potion down Ginny's throat. She was focused on making sure Ginny swallowed the potion, gently massaging her throat to get it to go down. Judging by the amount of blood covering her arm, she had probably collapsed from blood loss. Once they had made sure Ginny was ok, they moved back, the four of them all sitting down in a group of chairs a little way away from the couch Ginny was on.

"What happened to her?" Fred asked again.

"She had detention with the foul woman," Hermine said.

"Why did she end up like that?" George pressed.

"Because Umbitch is barbaric," Ron growled.

"We don't know much. But Ginny told us earlier in the year that Umbridge was making her do lines for detention. But she had to do lines with a quill that carved into her hand, making her write with her own blood," Hermione said.

"Why didn't she tell anyone?"

"You know Ginny. She's so damn prideful. She probably thought she could deal with it. Especially because she didn't get anymore detentions until today's," Ron said.

"Yeah, that sounds like Ginny."

"Will she be ok?"

"I hope so. She didn't collapse the last time she had detention. But the blood replenisher should help and she should sleep it off," Hermione said.

"How did you know she out there?" Fred asked.

"The Fat Lady told us," Ron said.

"No, she didn't."

"She said that Lady Gryffindor,"

"Had collapsed, not Ginny." Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

"She'll kill you," Ron told Hermione, seeing that she wanted to tell them.

"She'll understand," Hermione argued.

"She wants it a secret."

"They deserve to know. She's their sister."

"It's her secret to tell. Our parents don't even know."

"Fine," Hermione said, crossing her arms and turning away from Ron.

"That's for Ginny to tell you," Ron told his brothers. They nodded, clearly understanding that their sister had secrets.

"So, what are you going,"

"To do about the toad?"

"We can't let her get away,"

"With hurting our sister."

"I don't know. She's a Professor and works for the ministry," Hermione said. Fred and George grinned, their expressions not reassuring at all.

"Leave it up to us."

"We'll deal with her." Hermione sighed.

"You do that. I'm going to bed. I'll take Ginny too." She stood up and grabbed Ginny's bag as well as hers, and headed up the stairs, levitating Ginny ahead of her.

"I'm going to head to bed too. I can't focus on my essay after that. And there's no point without Hermione; I suck at History," Ron agreed, heading up to his own dorm, leaving the twins to their plans.

Hermione floated Ginny into her room, placing her gently down onto her bed. She placed Ginny's bag next to her bed and pulled out a piece of parchment. She wrote a small note to Ginny, letting her know what they had done and how she had gotten inside so that she didn't panic when she woke up. With one last look at Ginny, Hermione left the room and headed into her room, quickly changing for bed and letting herself drift off to sleep, trying not to think about the blood covering Ginny's hand and arm.


	60. End of Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, things are changing a lot with my schedule at the moment, meaning updates have changed a bit. They will still be one a week, but now they'll just be sometime during the weekend, rather than specifically on Sunday. Enjoy the chapter.

The end of the year approached quickly. Ginny didn't get any more detentions with Umbitch, which they were all thankful for, and her hand was permanently scarred with just visible words. Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George said nothing about it, to her or anyone else, other than when they told her what they had done once she had passed out. But Umbitch had been pranked relentlessly for weeks after her detention. She knew it was the twins and was really impressed by some of their products, especially the portable swamp that they put in the corridor outside her office and personal quarters. Both she and Harry were glad that they were using the money for that he had left to them to make joke products.

Her lessons with Remus and Sirius had continued and she had progressed onto fighting dummies so that she could fight with more harmful spells and have more opponents. She loved the lessons where they brought out the dummies because ripping into them was a great release for all her anger, which she ended up bottling up during the week, especially when she was in contact with Umbitch, and let her feel all her magic flowing around her. Allowing her magic to flow freely felt amazing, especially since the influx of her magic had basically doubled it, which made it feel cramped inside her now that she had control of it.

She would have one lesson of duelling a week and the other two lessons would have Sirius and Remus teaching her a large variety of spells, from household charms to defensive and offensive, to healing spells and protective spells. They taught her a lot of spells that were sometimes needed in everyday life but weren't taught as part of the curriculum. They went over them verbally, first with her wand and then Harry's, and then working on them silently with her wand first, then Harry's, before moving on to the spell with both wands, verbally and then silently, before they would move on to another spell.

Hermione and Ron had stopped their duelling lessons, instead using that time to study for their OWL's. Hermione had drawn up study schedules for both her and Ron and had been getting extremely stressed about the exams as they got closer and closer. Ron finally got her to stop stressing a week before the exams started by reminding her that she had never failed a test before, so she had no reason to worry.

"If anything, I should be the one stressing. I've failed so many homework assignments for Potions, not to mention History, and I have no hope for Divination at all," he had said. She was glad that she had another year before Owl's, plus all the help that Remus and Sirius had given her that year. Her own end of year exams had passed without problem and she was confident that she had done well.

It was the last day of term and Ginny was relaxing under a tree near the lake with Luna. She enjoyed hanging out with Luna, even though they didn't do it often. They were both always busy with one thing or another, but when they did get together Ginny always had fun. Luna was always talking about different animals that most people hadn't heard of before and most people didn't believe her or understand her. Since they had played together since they were young, Ginny was able to decipher about two-thirds of what Luna said, compared to the usual one-quarter that most people got.

Luna was explaining to her all about the hunt her and her dad were going on during the holidays to look for Crumple-horned Snorkacks. Ron and Hermione were little way away, at the edge of the lake. Ron seemed to be teaching Hermione how to skip stones.

"And daddy's already got the tent and portkey all set up so that we can leave for Sweden tomorrow. That way we have all the holidays to search. Daddy thinks that-" Luna was cut off by a loud bang from behind them. They both turned to stare up at the castle, wondering what was going on up there.

"Should we go see?" she asked. Luna nodded and together they made their way up to the castle. They stepped into the entrance hall to see a large variety of fireworks exploding everywhere, emitting loud bangs whenever two fireworks collided. There were fire-breathing dragons and Catherine wheels, as well as rockets with tails of silver stars and firecrackers. There were even sparklers that were writing profanities in the air.

"That's different," Luna commented airily. Ginny nodded, not having any idea what to say.

 **This has Fred and George written all over it,** Harry commented.

 **Oh yeah, definitely,** she agreed.

 **They're probably behind the tapestry near the staircase, laughing at the chaos they've created.** Ginny said goodbye to Luna before moving across to the tapestry that Harry had suggested, pulling it aside and slipping into the small corridor hidden behind it. Just as Harry had suggested, the twins were hiding there, laughing at the mayhem in the entrance hall.

"Very nice," she said. George swept his arms wide, giving a sweeping bow while Fred continued laughing.

"Thank you."

"We do try."

"Why today?"

"Well-"

"-we graduated yesterday-"

"-so can't get any more detentions-"

"Not that that hasn't stopped you before," she murmured with an eyeroll.

"-plus, we needed to leave a goodbye present."

"Well, they're amazing. Are you going to sell them?"

"Yep."

"Wildfire Whiz-bangs." There was another loud bang, louder than all the previous ones, causing Fred and George to break into devious grins.

"I'm scared to ask," she admitted, knowing that those looks were, more often than not, followed by a lot of mayhem, and normally a large mess.

"Just some advertisement-"

"-for our new shop in Diagon." Ginny sighed, Harry rolling his eyes.

"I'll leave you two to it then." She left the small alcove and saw what had the twins grinning so much. The words _Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes! Premises at 93 Diagon Alley_ were hanging in the air in bright, sparkly letter, each letter a different colour.

 **It really is good to see that they've made good use of the money I left them,** Harry commented as she just kept staring at the letters.

**Yeah, not sure how thrilled mum will be though. She still believes that a joke shop isn't a real job.**

**She better get used to it then because I think that they'll take off.**

**Oh yeah, it's definitely going to take off. They really have talent when it comes to making pranks,** she agreed, finally taking her eyes off the clashing colours of the words.

The next day saw Ginny sitting in a compartment with Luna. They were sitting in a comfortable silence, Luna reading the Quibbler while Ginny was lost in her own thoughts. That's why she enjoyed sitting with Luna on the train, they were able to do their own things without having to talk, while her other friends always wanted to talk about one thing or another. Normally boys. Plus, she sometimes felt like an outsider, since she hadn't made all the connections during her first year like they all had, but she did enjoy hanging out with many different groups.

**I was thinking, Gin.**

**Did it hurt?**

**Ha ha. Anyway, I was thinking about how Voldemort was always trying to do me in.**

**Yeah, what about it?** Ginny had noticed that too, but hadn't actually thought about why.

 **Well, that night, he didn't come after my family. He came after me. I realised that there must have been a reason behind the attack.** Ginny slowly nodded, her action completely ignored by Luna, something she was thankful for. Or maybe Luna noticed, but didn't mention it anyway; Luna was nice like that.

**You're right. There had to have been a reason. Maybe Remus or Sirius know. I can owl them if you want?**

**Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. I want to know why he was so obsessed with me.** Harry fell silent after that, letting Ginny ponder on everything and anything her mind brought up. Her thoughts were mainly focused on Voldemort though. Her thoughts were drifting on him, and she forcefully pulled her mind away when she started to drift back into the memories of the diary.

The diary. 

**Harry, I just had a thought.**

**What about Gin?**

**Well, it's two things really. About Voldemort.** It had taken a while, but Harry had eventually convinced her to call him Voldemort rather than You-Know-Who. He suggested that it would help her take control of her memories, because he wouldn't seem as scary if she used his name and every time she used it was a small, personal victory over the one who had taken away her first year at Hogwarts.

**What about him?**

**Well, what was the diary? It occurred to me that it had to have been something really powerful and dark to possess me like it did. And then I remembered something Tom told me. He said something about becoming the most powerful wizard, about how he had discovered how to beat death. And I realised, how did he survive that night?**

Harry was silent for a while and she let him organise his thoughts.

 **I might know the answer to that,** he said slowly. She raised an eyebrow, before remembering he couldn't actually see that like her could with a nod.

**You do?**

**Yeah, something I found out about at Gringotts last year, when I took the lordship test and claimed my lordships.**

**Lordship test?**

**You wouldn't have had to take one because I had already claimed mine and you're basically my wife, so any that I inherit, so do you.** She nodded, ignoring the swooping in her stomach at being called his wife, which was also a weird thought considering her age, prompting him to continue with his explanation.

**Well, on the lordship test it showed all magic on my person, including the soul bond and love sacrifice from my parents. There was also something on me that's called a Horcrux. The goblins removed it, but it was essentially a piece of soul that would prevent Voldemort from dying. And he probably made more than just one, he said that he had gone further down the path of immortality than any other.**

**Like the diary,** she realised. It made sense. After hearing that a Horcrux was a piece of Voldemort's soul, it made sense for the diary to have been one. Quirrell had been possessed and that had been actual Voldemort for that to happen.

 **Do you think that, if we can destroy all the Horcruxes, then we would be able to kill him?** Ginny asked. She knew it was a long shot, but it was still an idea.

**Ginny, I don't want you anywhere near that madman!**

**Why not? I feel that I have a lot of reasons to want to be the one who finishes him.**

**I don't want you to get hurt. Even if I had my own body, I wouldn't want you near him.**

**He took away a year of my life and ended my childhood years too early. He was the reason that you grew up how you did, the reason you don't have any parents. He's the reason that you died Harry. The reason I only have you in my head rather than in actual reality. It wasn't his forces, it was him, personally him. He has taken so much from both of us and I want to pay him back for it. And I know how to duel, how to fight. And I have you to help, we're even better working together.** She heard Harry sigh, but could already feel his acceptance.

**I don't want you to get hurt Gin. He's already taken so much from me, I can't lose you too.**

**I'll be careful Harry. And you'll be there too. And I feel that I need to do this, he's taken more from me than you, and you would have continued fighting him.** Harry sighed, before relenting.

**Fine. Just as long as you don't go looking for him Gin.**

**I won't go looking for the actual monster. The pieces of his soul, though. Those, I think I may go looking for.**


	61. Horcruxes

It was a few days into the holidays before Ginny was able to sneak away. They had moved back to the Burrow this summer, Sirius and Remus having moved back to Potter Manor after the Christmas holidays. She managed to get to the fireplace and floo away before anyone noticed.

She flooed to Grimmauld Place, figuring that the Black family would be more likely to have information about Horcruxes than the Potter family would. She stepped out of the floo at Grimmauld place and immediately headed up to the library.

**Be careful Gin. Siri said that heaps of these books could be cursed.**

**I'll be fine Harry. During the summer holidays we got rid of anything in this house that could be dangerous,** she reassured him, since he had still been gone when that had been happening. She browsed the shelves lining the walls, looking for anything that might be related to such dark magic. She came across a few books and pulled them from their spots, levitating them in a stack behind her as she kept looking. Once she had covered the entire room she sat down, placing the small stack of books down next to her. She skimmed through the books, looking for anything useful, but not finding anything.

"Kreacher," she called, hoping that the house elf might be able to help.

"Yes, young mistress," he replied with a bow after popping in.

"Are there any books in here that mention Horcruxes?" she asked. Kreacher tilted his head to the side before shaking his head.

"Kreacher doesn't think so, not in the library young mistress. But there be a book in Master Regulus' room that mentions them, Kreacher thinks."

"Could you get me that book Kreacher?" she asked. Kreacher nodded and popped away. He reappeared just seconds later holding a thick book titled _Secrets of the Darkest Arts_.   
"Thank you Kreacher," she said, taking the book from the elf, who popped away, seeing that she didn't need him any more. She scanned the contents and flipped through the book until she reached the short chapter about Horcruxes. It detailed exactly how to make one, and she did her best not to throw up at some of the steps; it was a truly disgusting piece of magic. It also said that they should be well guarded and the ways that they could be destroyed.

 **Huh, look at that. I just happened to stab the diary with one of the only things that could destroy it,** Harry commented bluntly. Ginny laughed quietly at that, glad that he had brought her mood up a bit, before turning serious again.

**So, we have a way to destroy them once we find them. Now we just have to find them.**

**Will you be ok to go back down there, Gin?**

**We'll work that out later. We have to focus right now,** she said, brushing his concern away. She felt Harry nod, before he spoke again.

 **He had to have made at least 2 deliberately, I think mine would have been a mistake. He had to have had one still in tact after the diary was destroyed.** Ginny nodded, thinking things through, and trying to remember what she knew about Tom Riddle.

 **He was always fascinated in magical numbers.** She said slowly.

 **What's the most magical number?** Harry asked. She thought back to her Arithmancy classes and the lesson they had discussed magical numbers in. It had been one of the first classes she had had of it, back in third year.

**We'll come back to that. I'll remember eventually. Should we be concerned about why this was in Regulus' room? I mean, it gives a very detailed account about how to create a Horcrux.**

**Ask Kreacher. He might know,** Harry suggested.

"Kreacher," she called again. Kreacher popped in again, bowing in front of her.

"How can Kreacher help young mistress?"

"Do you know why this book was in Regulus' room?"

"Kreacher does. But Kreacher was forbidden from telling. Young Master Regulus forbid Kreacher from telling Mistress about what he did," Kreacher said, becoming slightly hysteric as he spoke.

"You don't have to tell me if you can't Kreacher, it's ok. Thank you." Kreacher nodded, popping away again.

**That's not good. Do you think that he made one? And that's why Kreacher can't tell?**

**I have no idea. I can't even fully remember who Regulus is. I know he's related to Sirius and that's about it.**

**You could ask Siri. That might help us work out why he had the book, and we may be able to find him to ask,** Harry suggested.

"I'll have to go tomorrow, mum's probably going to be looking for me soon," she murmured to herself before calling Kreacher and getting him to pop her to her room.   
The next day she snuck out again, this time travelling to Potter Manor. Fergo popped in to the living room to greet her as she stepped out of the fireplace.

"Mistress Potter has come back. How can Fergo help Mistress Potter?" Ginny froze at being called a Potter, before remembering that creatures that could see the bond basically considered her and Harry married.

"My name is Ginny. Could you take me to Sirius?" Fergo nodded.

"Fergo can be doing that Mistress Ginny. Follow Fergo." She followed that happy elf out of the living room and up to the dueling room. There was a lot of banging coming from inside the room.

"Master Padfoot be in there Mistress Ginny," Fergo said.

"Thank you Fergo." Fergo popped away, leaving her alone in the hall. She waited until the number of bangs reduced before knocking on the door. About a minute after she knocked, the bangs fully subsided and Sirius opened the door. He looked at her in surprise when he saw her waiting for him.

"Ginny?" he asked.

"Hi Sirius. I need to ask you something. Just please don't ask why I'm asking."

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Actually, it's two things. The first one is if you know what the most magical number is?" It had come to her that Sirius and Remus would probably know, since she couldn't seem to remember, so she had decided to ask that before asking about whoever Regulus was.

"Well, I'm not fully sure but I'm pretty sure it was 7. 3 is the only other magical number I can remember, but I do know that 7 is more powerful than 3," Sirius replied slowly.

"Ok, thank you. The other thing is a bit different. I was wondering who Regulus is. Harry and I can remember that he's related to you but can't remember how." Sirius face hardened at the name.

"Regulus was my brother," he said stiffly.

 **Was?** Harry asked. Ginny had thought the same thing, having picked up on the past tense.

"Was?" she asked aloud.

"He was the perfect son. Followed my family's beliefs perfectly, even joined the Death Eaters. And then he got cold feet, tried to back out. But once you join you don't leave. He was killed on Voldemort's orders."

**Ok, so he didn't make a Horcrux.**

**So, what else would he have done that Kreacher can't say. And why would he have had that book?**

**Maybe he found one and was trying to work out what it was? We could try asking Kreacher again,** Harry suggested. She mentally shrugged before focusing back on Sirius.   
"Thank for the help Sirius." He nodded, face still hard.

"Why do you ask?" he asked. She shrugged, not wanting to tell him in case he tried to stop them.

"Ok, if you decide to tell me..." he trailed off before shaking his head. "Anyway, if I can help at all just ask. I'd also be happy to keep training with you."

"Thanks for the offer. I'll ask mum if I can keep having my private lessons with you and Remus. She, uh, doesn't actually know I came today." She smiled at him and he grinned back.

"So don't mention seeing you, got it." He winked before waving and heading back into the dueling room. She grinned before calling Fergo and asking him to pop her back to her room.

It was another 3 days before she was able to sneak off again to go speak with Kreacher. She didn't want to risk calling him to her room, in case anyone walked in, despite the fact that she always locked her door. She had told her mum that she was going to visit Luna. She had flooed to Luna's house and asked Luna if she could be her alibi. Luna had just nodded and smiled serenely before Ginny flooed away again.

She sat in the library again before she called Kreacher. He appeared before her with a pop and bow like usual.

"Kreacher, did Regulus find a Horcrux?" she asked.

"Kreacher failed Master Regulus. Kreacher was forbidden from telling Mistress about what Master Regulus did. Kreacher tried but Kreacher failed," Kreacher wailed.

"Kreacher, can you tell me what you failed to do?" she asked gently, not wanting to distress the upset elf any more.

"Kreacher was forbidden from telling Mistress, but you are young mistress," Kreacher said slowly. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Kreacher tried destroying it. Kreacher tried and tried and failed and failed."

"Kreacher, do you still have it?" Kreacher calmed down slightly, before looking at her warily.

"Kreacher does young mistress. Why does young mistress want to know?"

"If it's what I think it is, I should be able to destroy it for you," she explained. Kreacher popped away and reappeared again, this time holding an ornate locket in his hand. The locket was covered in a dark aura, a sicky mix of the darkest black imaginable and the red of dried blood.

 **That's what the diary looked like.** Ginny nodded slowly, taking the locket from Kreacher. She shuddered at the feeling of the magic surrounding the locket as it came into contact with her skin; being able to see traces of magic had made her much more sensitive to magic, especially dark magic.

 **I want to get rid of this as quickly as possible. I don't want to keep it around if we don't have to.** She felt Harry nod in agreement.

"Thank you Kreacher. I want to get rid of it today. I'm pretty sure I know how, and a place that may have information about how to find out if there are any more out there."

**Are you sure?**

**I remember Tom talking about how much information was down there in Slytherin's personal library. Slytherin was supposed to be dark, so his library probably has some information that we won't find here or at the Potter House.**

**That makes sense. But are you sure that you can go down there? We weren't going to have to deal with this until we got back to school.**

**I want this destroyed, or at least somewhere secure and away from me. I'll be fine Harry.** She heard Harry sigh, but he didn't say anything else. She was glad that he had learnt how stubborn she was and that once she was determined to do something, she was going to do it. She steeled herself before turning to Kreacher to make her request.

"Can you take us into Hogwarts Kreacher?" she asked. Kreacher nodded. He grabbed her hand and they popped away.


	62. The Chamber of Secrets

Ginny felt her feet hit the hard stone of the Hogwarts corridors. She looked around, trying to work out which floor she was on. She spotted a familiar painting, a bowl of fruit, and nodded. She was down by the kitchens, so she needed to go up three floors to reach the second floor.

"Is anyone else in the castle Kreacher?" she asked.

"Kreacher doesn't think so young mistress." She thanked Kreacher and he popped away, telling her he would be back when she called him. Locket now in her pocket so she didn't lose it, she headed towards the second-floor girls bathroom.

She reached the bathroom and stopped just inside the door. She took a deep breath, willing herself to keep going.

 **Are you ok Gin?** Harry's concerned voice broke through her rising panic and she focused on him.

 **I ... I think so.** She managed to walk further into the bathroom and stopped in front of the sink that would open to the Chamber of Secrets.

**I can't ... I can't speak Parseltongue.**

**I still can. Can you give me control?**

**Just ... just my mouth. I don't want to lose control while opening the Chamber. Not again.**

**Ok, thats fine. I'll take over just enough to open the Chamber.** She felt Harry move forward and her mouth open without her telling it to. A series of hissing came from her throat and the sink began moving, sinking into the ground. A large hole appeared where the sink had been, and Harry retreated.

 **You have to ask for stairs,** she told him.

**What?**

**I remember enough and was able to understand enough to know you have to ask for stairs. How else would you get down there? Or back up?** Harry didn't answer, but she could feel his sheepishness.

**You didn't ask for stairs. Are you serious. What did you do? Jump?**

**Uh, maybe?**

**You jumped. Into a pitch-black hole. With no idea how deep it was or what was waiting at the bottom.** She deadpanned, mind taken off the current situation as she looked back on one of Harry's more stupid ideas.

 **Yeah. It was the only thing we could think of at the time. And we made Lockhart go first,** he defended himself. She just sighed.

 **You still need to ask for stairs.** Again, a series of hissing escaped her throat and soon a set of stairs had appeared leading down into the darkness. She drew both wands and lit the end of both of them before descending into the Chamber.

 **I was too out of it last time, but what actually happened to make the roof collapse?** She hoped that by talking to Harry she could ignore what had happened down here.

 **Lockhart tried to obliviate Ron and I. Except he tried to do it with Ron's wand, which was broken. The spell backfired and I'm pretty sure the wand exploded.** Ginny nodded, that would explain why Ron had needed a new wand that summer, and began carefully moving some more of the rocks so that she could fit through as she couldn't fit through the hole from 3 years ago. When the hole was big enough, she moved on through the cavern.

When she reached the door covered in snakes, Harry moved forward again, hissing at it to open it. She braced herself as the door swung open and then stepped through. She walked into the Chamber. Torches were flaming to life all around the Chamber. She looked around and her eyes stopped on the large basilisk and her breath started coming quicker as she realised how large the snake actually was.

She pulled her attention away from the snakes corpse and her eyes landed on the stain of blood on the floor. Her breathing was coming in short gasps now and she felt her legs give out underneath her.

 **Ginny, it's ok, just breath. It's ok, breathe. In and out.** She could hear Harry trying to help her, but she couldn't fully focus on breathing like he was telling her to do.

 **Ginny, just try to relax, ok. It's going to be ok. Just focus on breathing and try to relax.** Her breathing slowly began to even out, but it was still coming in quick breaths.

 **That's it. In and out Gin.** Her breathing slowed slightly but she could still feel the panic at the forefront of her mind.

 **Try and turn away from that direction. It will be better if you're not looking at it.** She couldn't find the strength to move her body, but she managed to move her head so that she was no longer staring at the dried pool of blood where Harry had nearly died.

 **That's it, Gin. Remember to keep breathing. Now, can you name 5 things you can see.** She nodded and began listing some things she could see.

**Stones ... ... torches ... dust ... the roof ... ... cobwebs.**

**Good job. Keep breathing, in and out. 4 things you can feel.** Again, she slowly listed the things Harry asked.

**Cold floor ... my clothes ... my magic inside me ... a small breeze.**

**3 things you can hear.** As she was listing these things, she could feel herself calming down even more, her breathing becoming more natural but she just continued to focus on Harry's instructions.

**You ... my breathing ... water to my left.**

**You're doing really good. 2 things you can smell.**

**Musty air ... ... damp stone or dirt.** By now she felt better and wasn't focusing on the snake or blood anymore.

"Thank you," she said quietly out loud. She flushed slightly, embarrassed about what had just happened.

 **It's fine Gin. You shouldn't be ashamed about having a panic attack. Come on, I saw a door over there when we came in.** Harry took one of her arms and pointed. She looked where he was pointing and saw the door he was referring to and headed towards it, taking care not to look anywhere near the dead basilisk.

She pushed the door open and stepped into what looked like a study. There was a small bookshelf next to the door and a desk against the wall to the right of the door. There was also a door on the other two walls. Everything was covered in dust, which Ginny got rid of with a cleaning spell that her mum always used.

She inspected the bookshelf and was surprised that most of the books there were handwritten, with two shelves full of books written in swirls that Harry could read. Probably Parseltongue. All the books had a pale silver sheen on them that she had seen on all the books in the Hogwarts Library. Harry said it was a preserving charm; he had asked Madam Pince what spells were on the books when he was in first year. She scanned through some of the books and was slightly disappointed that she couldn't take them with her.

 **These look really interesting. Maybe you should have brought a bag to bring some back.** She didn't reply, but agreed that that would have been a good idea. An idea came to her.

"Kreacher," she called.

"Yes, young mistress." Kreacher asked, popping in beside her.

"Could you get me a bag. It doesn't have to be big." Kreacher nodded and popped away, popping back with a school bag in hand. She took it with a nod and then he was gone again. She put some of the more interesting ones in the bag, including some of the ones written in Parseltongue. Satisfied with her choices, and with the knowledge that she would be able to come down again during school, or even later in the summer, she moved to investigate the doors on either wall.

One door led to a bedroom which had an open closet half full of clothes that seemed quite old-fashioned, as well as a large bed and bedside table. She didn't go inside and moved on to the second door. The second door opened to a library that was full of books.

She went inside and examined the closest shelves, pulling down some of the ones with more interesting titles and placing them in her bag. One book caught her eye and she pulled it down from the shelf, examining the title. _Detect and Destroy Darkness._ That definitely looked helpful.

She cast a quick tempus and noted that she still had just over an hour before her mum expected her home for dinner. She hadn't realised how long she had been down here. Happy that she had a while before she had to get home, she set an alarm for 45 minutes, a spell she had seen her mum use quite often when cooking. It took her a couple of tries, but she got it quick enough. She got rid of the dust covering the closest armchair and sat down, opening the book, and beginning to read.

She was extremely happy with what she learnt. When her alarm went off she had read about half of the book and a lot of it seemed very helpful. Especially considering that every few pages was a new spell, with the following pages describing how to do it, what it did and how it could be used against dark objects or creatures. With Harry remembering the page for her, since she always forgot which page she was on and she would never hear the end of it from Hermione if she folded the corners, especially on a book this old, she put the book in her bag and zipped it closed.

She stepped out of the library and walked through the study, knowing she had to go back up to the school to close the entrance to the Chamber, as Harry hadn't closed it behind them.

 **Leave the locket here,** Harry said as she passed the desk. She pulled the locket out of her pocket and dumped it on the desk, shaking her hand to get rid of the feeling of such dark magic on her skin.

**You should just destroy it now. The fangs and venom are right out there.**

I might need it still intact. These books may have something about how to find other ones and we might need one to find the others. She heard Harry sigh, but he agreed, albeit reluctantly.

**I guess that that makes sense. But we destroy it as soon as we find the others.**

**Agreed.** She made her way quickly out of the Chamber and back up into the school. Harry hissed at the sink again and it slid back into place.

 **Next time we get Kreacher or another elf to pop us down there,** Harry decided.

 **Yes, straight into the study. It would have to be Kreacher; the others haven't been down there,** she agreed.

"Bonky," she called. The Potter House elf popped in next to her, clapping excitedly.

"How can Bonky be helping Mistress Ginny?" Bonky asked.

"Can you take me back to Potter House?" Bonky nodded and grabbed her hand, popping them to the living room of Potter House.

"Can Bonky be getting Mistress Ginny anything?"

"No thanks Bonky. I just need to use the floo. I'll come back when I can."

"Yes Mistress. Bonky be keeping house ready for Mistress Ginny. Bonky be coming whenever Mistress Ginny calls."

"Thank you Bonky, I'll keep that in mind." Bonky nodded before popping away. She grabbed a handful of floo powder and through it in the fireplace and stepped in.

"The Burrow." She stepped out of the fireplace and brushed the soot off herself.

"Mum, I'm home," she called.

"Ok dear. Dinner will be in half an hour," her mum's voice replied from the direction of the kitchen. She headed up to her room, wanting to keep reading _Detect and Destroy Darkness_ because she was sure that she would find even more useful information in there.


	63. Slytherin's Knowledge

Ginny spent the next week and a half reading through all the books she had brought back from the Chamber. She spent most of that time in her room, occasionally moving to the living room or outside.

Whenever she got tired of reading, she would pull out her broom and practise her flying. She was adamant about trying out for the Quidditch Team this year. She would have tried out the previous year, but she hadn't been ready to face flying when tryouts were held during the first week of term, only being able to bring herself to fly again during the 3rd week. And that was mainly to blow off steam. Quidditch had been a constant reminder of Harry before he came back and by then it was too late to try out.

Hermione had arrived for a visit during the second week of the holidays and both she and Ron had expressed their confusion about how much time she had spent reading.   
She was on the last of the books she had taken from the Chamber, curled up in an armchair in the living room while Ron and Hermione worked on some of their summer homework together. She knew she needed to start her own homework but kept putting it off.

The book she was reading, well Harry was reading and translating for her, was a handwritten one by Salazar Slytherin himself and written in Parseltongue. Hence why Harry had to translate it for her while they read. He mainly read in silence, filling her in on any interesting information. She could always retreat into her mind and have a look through Harry's memories of reading it, since to him it looked like English.

She had learnt a lot about Slytherin from his handwritten books and journals, including the real reason behind the fight that everyone thought made him leave, and the real reason he had left the school.

Apparently, he had gotten into a fight with the other founders over whether or not the Muggle-born students should get to stay yearlong to prevent them from being killed by their families, as well as how much he had taught his son. He had taught his son about the Dark Arts so that his son would understand how dangerous they could be, but instead his son had delved extremely deep into them and became a Dark Lord. Slytherin had left the school to stop his son, which was where the last entry stopped.

It also appeared that he had done a lot of research into which Dark Arts his son had delved into, which included Horcruxes, and the fact that his son had made multiple, much like Voldemort had. From what Harry was translating, this book was all about how Slytherin had found and destroyed the Horcruxes that his son had made before going out to hunt him. Ginny was pretty sure that Voldemort had gotten the idea of making multiple Horcruxes from Slytherin's son, which Harry had agreed with when she pointed it out.

"What are you reading Ginny?" Ginny looked up at Hermione who had apparently been watching her for read for a while.

"Just a book I found," she replied absently, flicking the page at Harry's prompting.

"Where did you get it? I haven't seen it before," Ron commented. She just shrugged, keeping her eyes on the page as Harry continued to read.

"What's it about. You seem pretty interested in it," Hermione asked.

"Different ways to defend yourself against the Dark Arts," she replied. She wasn't lying, she just didn't mention the fact that it was about a very specific branch of dark magic and how to destroy them, as well as in another language; that would create too many questions that would be awkward to answer.

"That sounds really interesting. Could I borrow it after you've finished with it?" Ginny waited for Harry to finish the page he was on before looking up with a sigh. Ron had gone back to staring at his half-written essay while Hermione was still staring at her.

"Sorry Hermione, but I don't think so."

"Why not?" Hermione demanded.

"Because you won't be able to read it." She went back to the book as Hermione huffed. She continued to turn the page whenever Harry prompted her to; he didn't take control often, only when he needed to. About 5 minutes later she felt a presence behind her chair. She sighed and looked behind her to find Hermione hovering behind her, looking extremely put out.

"Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to know why I couldn't read it. What language is it? Could you teach me? Or lend me a translated version?"

"No, I can't teach you and I might be able to give you a translated version by the time we get back to school." And if she did give her a translated version it would be of a much different book that didn't mention anything near as dark as Horcruxes, because she didn't need Hermione researching what they were and trying to find out why she was reading about them.

"Why can't you teach me? And what language is it?" Hermione pushed.

"I can't teach you because I can't read it or speak it. It's hard to explain but Harry is literally translating it for me in my head as he reads through my eyes." She really didn't want to tell them that it was written in Parseltongue considering that there had only been 3 well known Parselmouths in Britain in history, including Harry. It would raise many more questions about where she got the book. And she definitely wasn't going to tell anyone she had gone down to the Chamber of Secrets and raided the library there.

Hermione huffed but didn't continue to press her for answers, instead moving back to her seat next to Ron and continuing with her homework. Glad that Hermione hadn't pressed she moved her gaze back to the book so that Harry could keep reading.

 **I found something. This passage here talks about how Slytherin located what each existing Horcrux was and where they all were,** Harry said.

**How did he do it?**

**I'll read the whole passage for you. 'It took many a year to construct the ritual of which I required. It enabled a location of each piece of the madman's soul and the object they were encased in. The best able to be made required one of the evil containers to cast on. The ritual is complicated, intricate, and precise, and takes many months of preparation to perform. It requires a connection to moon phases, and months in relation to the sun and stars, as well as someone touched by the evil of the container.'**   
**Does it say anything else?**

**That's all on this page.** Ginny absently turned the page at that, letting Harry scan the page for a little while before he spoke up again.

 **If you get me a piece of parchment and a quill, I can write the instructions down.** Ginny nodded and looked up from the book and across at her brother. Hermione had vanished.

"Where's Hermione?" she asked.

"Book from her trunk," he replied shortly.

"Do you have a spare quill and some parchment that I could use?" Ron looked up from his essay, which he didn't seem to have progressed much on.

"Why?"

"I need to write something down idiot." Ron rolled his eyes at her but pushed a quill and some parchment across the table, so they were closer to her. She moved to a chair next to the table, pulling the parchment closer to her and picking up the quill.

"Thanks." Ron nodded and went back to his essay while she allowed Harry control over her arms so that he could properly read and write. It had gotten easier and easier for them to share her body thanks to their duelling practise and they had even gotten the hang of fully switching control with ease, even if they barely ever did; it felt very weird for both of them when they did occasionally fully switch.

The practise didn't make it any less weird when her arms started moving without her telling them too, even though she could feel Harry in control of them. She rolled her eyes when Harry started writing in Parseltongue.

**In English Harry. I have to be able to read them as well.**

**Right.** Harry sent her a sheepish smile and switched to writing in English. Thankfully, he had only written what the instructions were for in Parseltongue, so it wasn't a big loss; she knew what they were for without the title, and it would help if anyone found the instructions; there was no need for anyone to know exactly what she was doing.

_Start on a Full Moon while the sun is in position with Scorpio the constellation. This requires blood of one touched by the evil to draw the runes of Kaunan, Ewhaw, Mannaz, Wanjo, Nied, Peor, and Calc on the evil object. Draw the runes as the moon rises and leave the blood to soak into the evil object in the light of the moon until the moon sets, before hiding it from light until the next step._   
_Continue during the first quarter moon while the stars of the Aries constellation are in line with the sun. Carve the runes of Thurs, Kaun, Naudr, Ar, Madr, Ansuz, Berkano, Ehwaz, and Gebo in the dirt in a circle around the object. Kaun is at the North point and Thurs is at the south. Naudr is in the East position and Ar is at the West position. Ansuz is at North East while Berkano is at North West. Ehwaz is at South West and Gebo completes the circle at South East. The evil object is at the center of the circle, atop Madr. The runes are covered in freely given blood, each from a different person, with Madr being from the one touched by the evil. The evil object stays in the runic circle until the next last quarter moon. The evil object does not need to see the moon but can without disrupting the ritual._   
_Finally, during a new moon while the Gemini constellation matches the sun. At Midnight while the new moon casts no light, blood of the one touched by the evil is again used to create runes on the evil object; Mannaz, Nauthis, Othala, Perthro, Thurisaz, Yen'Lui, Cynath, Sariou, Asur, Orio'Ur, and La'Coi. These runes are able to overlap any remnants of the runes from the first step. Leave the evil object in the dark of night until the sun breaks the horizon. At this time, pick up the evil object and allow visions of its brothers and their locations to penetrate your mind._

**That is definitely complex,** Ginny commented, looking over the finished instructions as Harry put down the quill.

**The freely given blood from 8 different people will be the hardest to get. And the instructions also note that you have to complete all the steps with a year, otherwise it won't work.**

**It shouldn't be that hard. I can just ask my family, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus for some.**

**But magical blood is a really dangerous substance. They won't give it to you without good reason.**

**I'll work that out once we work out what all the timing means,** she decided. If worse came to worse, she would tell them it was a ritual she found to weaken Voldemort and swear on her magic that she would only use their blood for the ritual.

Ginny looked back at the table, moving to pick the parchment up again, only to find it not on the table.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, looking up from a piece of parchment.

"What's what?" she asked. Hermione showed her the parchment and Ginny grabbed it, recognizing it immediately as the instructions she needed.

"This. I have no clue what it's for, but it involves mixing different runic alphabets. That's incredibly dangerous Ginny and it shouldn't be attempted, especially for an experiment," Hermione chided.

"Those are instructions that Harry copied down from the book for me so that I could complete a ritual. And it's not an experiment, the creator of it used it for exactly the same thing I am, and it worked perfectly for them."

"What's it for? And who created it?"

"The person who created it was the author of this book and it's a ritual to help weaken a Dark Lord. And I appreciate how much you seem to value my privacy." She grabbed the book and stormed off up the stairs, leaving Hermione and Ron where they were in the living room.

She closed her door, locking it and warding it shut with some of the privacy wards that Remus had taught her the previous school term. She moved to her desk and placed the book down before spreading the parchment in front of her. She grabbed a few pieces of parchment so that she could write the instructions in a translated way that she would fully understand and note down which runes were needed.

 **So, the position of the constellations in line with the sun refers to different astrology signs that Romilda is obsessed with. I'd just have to work out which sign coordinates with which month,** Ginny said, writing that down.

 **And the blood of one touched by evil must mean someone who was touched by a Horcrux. So your blood will work for that,** Harry added. Ginny wrote down what he had said before staring at the instructions again.

**One problem will be tracking the moon phases. I'm terrible at astronomy.**

**Same. You could always ask Moony.**

**I'll do that, good idea.** She made a note of Harry's suggestion and reminded herself to find a reason to go speak with Remus soon.

**What else. Well, I'm pretty sure that the first quarter moon would be a half moon going from after a new moon, while a third quarter moon is a half moon going from after a full moon. But I'd have to ask Remus about that as well.**

**Working out where North, South, East, and West are shouldn't be too hard. But finding a spot to carve the runes will be tricky.**

**I was thinking that I might be able to use the Chamber. I mean, there might be a dirt patch. I was also thinking that would be a good spot to store the locket between steps.**

**Maybe. The forest could possibly be another option for the second step,** Harry said. She continued to note down everything they were saying, including suggestions on where they could do the ritual.

**Getting the blood drawn runes all onto the locket will be difficult. Getting 7 runes will be difficult enough, let alone getting the 11 runes on it needed for the last step.**   
**How small do you reckon you could do them?**

**I don't know. With practice, probably pretty small. I don't even know what all of those runes look like, we haven't covered all the alphabets in Ancient Runes yet.**

**You can ask Moony when you talk to him about the moon phases. He's really good at Runes.**

**Yeah. I think I'll have to ask mum about those training sessions. It would provide a good reason to go over. Plus, I wouldn't mind continuing with the training. I'll go mention it now.** Harry agreed with her idea and she put her quill down before storing both pieces of parchment in a desk draw before warding them like she had warded her door.

She headed down the stairs and found her mum in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"Hey mum," she called.

"Yes dear?" Her mum replied, not turning away from the stove.

"Remus and Sirius have been giving me additional training during the school year and they mentioned continuing them during the holidays. Would I be able to go over to their place a couple times a week like I was when I was training with Harry, Ron, and Hermione to continue my training with them?"

"I don't see why not. Ron mentioned something about learning to duel with Remus. Are he and Hermione invited to join the sessions?"

"I'm not sure. They didn't train as much as I did during the school year because of their OWLs. I'll ask when I owl Remus about our first session," she promised. She silently hoped that they wouldn't, wanting to be able to use the sessions as cover to go back to the Chamber to get more books and so that she could discuss things with Remus and Sirius in private. But she also knew she couldn't not mention it.

"Then I'm fine with it. You just have to be careful and remember to stay within the wards."

"Thanks mum. I'll go owl them now."

"Dinner's in 10 minutes Ginny," her mum called after her as she half ran out of the kitchen. She reached her room and quickly penned out the request to continue with their training, as well as the question about Ron and Hermione.

She was about to leave her room to get Errol when movement outside her window caught her attention. Soaring toward her was a white owl that she recognized very easily. She opened the window, letting Hedwig fly inside.

Hedwig perched on the back of her desk chair, sticking out her leg for Ginny to tie her letter on. She didn't even question how Hedwig knew she had a letter, simply tying the scroll of parchment to her leg and watching her fly out the window again.

She hoped she would get a reply soon so she could keep working on the ritual.


	64. Confirmation

It was two days later that Hedwig showed up with a reply from Remus and Sirius. While she was waiting, Harry and her had started translating one of the … nicer … Parseltongue books for Hermione. She didn't want to make Hermione question why she was reading books about extremely dark magics, so had made sure that Harry chose the one with the lightest and nicest dark magics and how to defend against them.

She was in her room at her desk while Harry translated when Hedwig flew in the open window, perching on the edge of her bed. Harry stopped translating, giving her back her arms, and she moved over to Hedwig. She quickly untied the letter and Hedwig took off out the window again, clearly not waiting for a reply. She shrugged, moving back to the chair she had just vacated. Leaning back and kicking her feet up on the desk, she opened the letter.

_Ginny,_  
_We would be happy to continue your training sessions, as well as to continue sharing stories with you and Harry. In regard to Ron and Hermione joining you, we have no problem with it. However, we quite enjoy your training and the time with just you and Harry._  
_We would be happy to continue the arrangement we had during the school term, with you coming over on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with Hermione and Ron joining on Fridays. We were thinking about 2-4 in the afternoon, like we did before Harry's fourth year._  
_Looking forward to seeing you at 2 on Monday,_  
_Remus and Sirius._

**That means we can continue our research soon,** Harry commented.

**Yeah. I should probably let mum know.**

**Yeah probably**. She headed downstairs, skipping slightly in her happiness that she could continue working on the ritual soon.

She found her mum in the living room, knitting needles clicking away in front of her. Her mum looked up and smiled when she saw her.

"You look happy Ginny. Good news?"

"Yep. Remus and Sirius replied and I'm going over Monday for our first lesson. We're continuing our schedule from school." She plopped down on the chair opposite her mum, smiling broadly.

"That's lovely. What about Ron and Hermione?"

"They're going to continue with their Friday lessons."

"What time are Remus and Sirius expecting you?"

"They said we'd start at 2. They didn't specify a finishing time. I'll tell Ron and Hermione during dinner."

"You seem quite excited darling."

"Oh, I am. I really enjoy our lessons. They teach me such different things," she said happily. She hadn't actually told her mum what they taught her, knowing her mum wouldn't approve of her learning to fight. Especially because she thought they were too young to be a part of the war.

"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. Are you going to continue this when you go back to school?" her mum asked.

"I'm hoping so. They really help and the lessons are really fun."

"As long as you remember that next year you have your OWLs."

"I will mum. I'm going to fly for a while. I'll be in by dinner." She stood up, eager to get some of her energy out in the sky.

"Have fun then dear." She smiled before half running up to her room to grab her broom and heading outside.

She spent the rest of the afternoon practising her chaser skills until her mum called her inside for dinner.

Monday came quickly and Ginny was almost bouncing in anticipation. At five to two she stepped through the floo, appearing in the floo room at Potter Manor to find Remus and Sirius sitting together on a couch in wait for her.

"Hey Ginny, Harry," Sirius greeted. He slipped out of Remus arms and to his jumped to his feet and wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey Sirius, Remus."

"It's good to see you again Ginny, Harry." Remus stood moved next to Sirius, wrapping an arm around the excitable Animagus' waist.

"You mentioned having some questions in your letter. Anything we can help with? Or do you want to get straight into training?"

"Well, Harry and I have a few questions that we need your help with. It's for an extracurricular thing and we would appreciate if you don't ask questions about what exactly we're doing; it's a delicate matter. I also need some help with runes, some I need to learnt to recognise and be able to write others quite small."

"We should be able to help with that. Moony's the runes expert, so he'll have to help you there," Sirius said.

"What do you need the runes for?" Remus asked. She didn't answer, simply giving him an innocent smile that she had learnt from Fred and George.

"I just want to know if you're carving them or what you're writing them on. If they're being used for a ritual or in a chain, or if you are using them for protection or to create something. It'll be easier to teach you to write them small if I know what they are being used on and how you are writing or carving them," he explained. She nodded slowly, remembering Bill saying something similar, something about having to learn how delicate the runes needed to be for different uses, and different instrument to write them depending on what they were being put on.

"Well, they're all being used in a ritual. The ones that I need to learn to write small are being written on an object and the ones I just need help learning what they look like are being carved in the ground." Remus nodded, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"I can help you with that. I have a ritual brush and knife that you can use to practice them."

"Thank you." Remus nodded and smiled.

"How about we head to the family living room and get started on these questions of yours?" Sirius asked.

"Sounds good Sirius, lead the way." Sirius bounced off, with Remus and Ginny following at a slower rate.

"I swear, sometimes he acts like he's a child," Remus sighed. Ginny laughed.

"It's part of his charm," she decided. Remus laughed, but didn't deny it.


	65. Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Wednesday updates are back. I'm on summer holidays at the moment, so I have more time to write, hence Wednesday updates coming back, and they will stay back at least until February. Enjoy.

"Ask away," Sirius said once they were all seated in the family living room.

"Well, first, I need help tracking the moon phases."

"That's easy. I can copy my moon calendar for you. I can give you a copy on Wednesday," Remus offered.

"That would be great, thank you. Also, do you know how to tell which months correspond with which astrological sign? Like Scorpio, Aries, and Gemini?" Both men were quiet for a while before they both shook their heads no.

"Sorry, no." She nodded.

"That's fine. I can ask some of the girls on my dorm. I'm pretty sure I won't need it before September."

"Are they part of the ritual?" Remus asked. She nodded, leaning back in her chair slightly.

"Yeah. The steps have to be performed when the moon is in a specific phase as well as during a certain time of the year, that corresponds with astrology signs."

"I know you don't want to tell us, since you said not to ask questions, but what is the ritual for? Are we able to help in any way? A fourteen-year-old shouldn't have to perform a ritual that sounds this complicated on their own," Sirius said, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees.

"It is complicated," she said slowly. "And what it's for is ... complicated. It's something that I have to do, something that Harry and I have to do. I don't want to tell anyone what exactly were doing in case someone like my mum wants to try and stop me, because I have to do this." She sighed, not knowing what else to say on that topic.

 **This could be a good time to ask about the blood for the second step. They could help find six other people to willingly give their blood,** Harry suggested.

"Can we help in any way? Even if it's just collecting any ingredient or material that you need?" Remus asked, his tone slightly pleading. She sighed again, trying to work out how to phrase her response.

"The second step. It requires blood. Willingly given blood from eight people, and it can't be me. I don't know how to, um, ask people for it without having to explain what I'm doing," she said slowly.

"What's the blood for?" Sirius asked immediately.

"Runes. I have to carve runes in the ground and then cover each one with willingly given blood, each rune having blood from a different person."

"I'll do it," Sirius agreed. Remus elbowed him for his quick response.

"Pads, you have to think this through. You know how dangerous blood can be, especially willingly given, if it falls into the wrong hands. It's not that I don't trust you Ginny, but I want to make sure that you have somewhere safe and secure that you can store the blood, and that you will only use it for this ritual. And you have to promise that the ritual won't hurt you or anyone else." Ginny smiled slightly. She had been expecting at least one of them to have remembered how dangerous blood was in the magic world.

"I'll swear on my magic that any willingly given blood that I receive for this ritual will only be used for this ritual. And I promise both of you, that this ritual won't harm anyone that it's not meant to."

"Where will you keep it?"

"I plan on keeping it in a very secure location that only I can access, and that's only with the help of Harry. The only other person who could access it is Voldemort, and he won't be coming anywhere near where it is," she assured Remus.

"Do you know how to get rid of any traces left behind?" Sirius asked, obviously now remembering exactly how dangerous blood could be since Remus had mentioned it.

"Dig up all the dirt that the blood touched after the part of the ritual is completed and burn the dirt. Then burn any remaining blood and anything it touched," she answered, remembering what Bill had said about blood runes that they sometimes had to use to break or pass wards. Remus and Sirius exchanged looks before both nodding.

"We'll give you our blood, and we'll find six others to give their blood as well." She smiled and nodded her thanks. Remus summoned two small phials and a steel knife. They both cut their hand and allowed themselves to bleed into the phials. Once the phials were relatively full, they both corked them and healed their hands, before cleaning the knife and the remaining blood from their hands.

"Do you need them named?" Remus asked.

"That would help, yes. I have to use my own blood in a different step and I don't want to mix them up with mine since there is a very specific reason I need my blood." Using the knife, Remus delicately carved his initials on the stopper of the phial, before handing the knife to Sirius, who did the same.

"Before we hand them over, would you mind giving us that oath? Just as an extra precaution," Remus suggested.

"Of course." She flicked her left wrist and held her wand up.

"I, Ginevra Molly Potter nee Weasley, Lady of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell, and the Most Noble and Most Ancient Imperial House of Gryffindor, do hereby swear on my life and magic to use the willingly given blood for the ritual it is given for and for nothing else, and to dispose of it correctly after it is used. So I say it, so mote be it." She glowed slightly as her vow was judged and accepted by magic.

Remus and Sirius nodded, and handed over their phials, which she gently placed on the table beside her. She would visit the Chamber before going home to keep them safe.

"I'm not going to question the titles as I'm sure they have something to do with the bond. Any requests of people to ask? And when do you need them by?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, I got them because Harry had them. Um, if you could get the required blood before school starts, it would be really helpful, as I don't know exactly when the first step needs to be performed yet. As for who to ask. Definitely not my parents, and probably not Dumbledore. They'll ask too many questions, and as much as I respect Dumbledore, he'll probably try to interfere which we don't need. Anyone else in the Order will be fine. Also, I know that this will probably make it harder, but please don't tell them who it's for." She really didn't want to have lots of people knowing that she needed blood for a ritual.

"What should we tell them instead?" Remus asked.

"Um, that someone needs willingly given blood for a ritual that is going to help the war and could be the key to defeating Voldemort. And feel free to tell them that I've sworn on my magic to only use the blood for the ritual," she suggested. Remus and Sirius both looked at her sharply when she mentioned defeating Voldemort.

"What exactly does this ritual do?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Um, it's used to weaken a Dark Lord and I swear it works for exactly what I need it for," she relented.

"Where did you find it?" She shrugged.

"In a book, written by the person who made the ritual. He used the ritual for exactly what I'm using it for so I know it will work."

"I'll trust you on this," Remus said eventually, after staring at her intently for a while.

"I will too. We just don't want you to get hurt," Sirius agreed.

"I won't get hurt, I promise." She gave them a reassuring smile and they both relaxed slightly. Remus returned her smiled while Sirius grinned.

"Do you have any other questions?" Sirius asked.

"I don't think so."

**Harry?**

**I think we've covered everything,** Harry agreed.

"Yeah, no more questions," she confirmed.

"What runes do you need for the ritual?" Remus asked. She pulled the list of the runes needed out of her pocket. 

"The first step needs Kaunan, Ewhaw, Mannaz, Wanjo, Nied, Peor, and Calc, and they are written on an object. The second step calls for Thurs, Kaun, Naudr, Ar, Madr, Ansuz, Berkano, Ehwaz, and Gebo, all of which are carved in the ground. The last step requires Mannaz, Nauthis, Othala, Perthro, Thurisaz, Yen'Lui, Cynath, Sariou, Asur, Orio'Ur, and La'Coi to be written on the object."

"Those are from many different alphabets. those last few are even elven runes," Remus said slowly. Ginny nodded.

"I know. But the ritual calls for them, something about the different languages enhancing the magic, or something. I'm not entirely sure. Harry read the book, not me." Remus nodded.

"As long as you know the risks of using different languages and you don't mix them unless something proven to work needs you too, then I can help you with them."

"Thank you, Remus. And thank you for your blood, both of you."

For the next hour, Remus went over the different runes that she needed, and she began learning to write them on parchment. It was difficult, but she had always had an easier time remembering the order of strokes than most.

At four, the agreed time to finish, she said goodbye and collected their phials of blood. She put one phial on each of her pockets, so that they didn't bang together and possibly break; that would be very bad. She headed to the floo room and flooed to Potter House. There, she called for Kreacher to take her down to the study in the Chamber of Secrets. She was going to have Bonky take her, considering she was in the house that Bonky maintained, but dismissed that idea because Bonky wouldn't be able to take her straight to the study, having not been there before.

In the study, Ginny looked around for a secure place to put the phials of blood. She finally decided on the top draw of the desk, as it had indentations that seemed to be specifically for phials. She carefully laid the phials containing the blood that Sirius and Remus had given her in the two indentations on the right side of the draw.

 **It would be a good idea to have a few phials of your own blood, so that it's easier to use to write the runes.** She nodded, not even having thought of that, and called Bonky, which meant Bonky could now bring her down as well as Kreacher, asking for a few phials and a knife. Bonky popped back in with four phials and a steel knife which she took with a word of thanks.

She unstopped each phial and held her hand above the first one before cutting her palm and allowing her blood to almost fill the phial. She tilted her hand once the first phial was full, carefully placing it in a phial stand on the desk before moving her hand over to the next phial and letting her blood flood again. She repeated this until all four phials were full and securely stoppered. Once the four phials were full, she healed her hand and cleaned her blood up, making sure to carefully clean the knife as well. Once the knife was clean, she used it to carve her initial into the stoppers, just like Remus and Sirius had done, before carefully placing them in the draw next to Remus' and Sirius' phials of blood.

She closed the draw and warded it tightly, making it so that she would know if anyone managed to actually get down here and so much as bumped the draw. Once she was sure that that the draw was well protected, she headed into the library, wanting to grab a few more books to take with her. Pulling a few off the shelves that looked interesting, she shrunk them and put them in her pocket.

Satisfied with her few choices, she called Bonky again, and had the elf pop her back to Potter House. From there she then flooed back home, very happy with everything she had achieved that afternoon.


	66. Prophecy

The rest of July and the first few weeks of August past quickly, and Ginny felt that she and Harry had achieved a lot in their sessions with Sirius and Remus.

On Mondays they would work on her runes with Remus helping her when she needed it, as it was something that she didn't really want her mum seeing her doing. While she was practising, Remus and Sirius would discuss some things that the Order had been doing, as normal Order meetings were on Friday evenings, or longer ones on Saturday.

They had agreed, after much pleading from her and Harry, that they deserved to know at least a bit of what was going on. They were both considered adults, were being trained by Sirius and Remus on how to fight and win battles, were working on weakening Voldemort, and had both been very much influenced by Voldemort and his followers. They had eventually caved when Ginny pointed out that they would be part of this war whether they liked it or not, and it would be safer for them if they knew some of what was going on. They had agreed with the one condition that she didn't tell her mum, which she had no problem agreeing with. Her mum insisted on treating her like a child and keeping her in the dark, and would definitely not approve with many things she was doing.

Wednesdays consisted of duelling and battle practise, as well as learning new spells. They would start with two on one, before Ginny moved on to fighting the training dummies in mock battles. After an hour of duelling and battling, Remus and Sirius would teach them new spells.

Fridays were the days that Hermione and Ron joined them and were full of duels. One on ones and two on twos, where Ginny would work on battles with the dummies. Sometimes they would do other combinations, such as two on three, one on three, four on one, four on two, or full out every person for themselves. Ginny's favourite were the four on ones, where she and Harry would fight Remus, Sirius, Hermione, and Ron. At the moment, she and Harry won about the same amount that they lost, but the battles with the dummies were definitely paying off, which helped her hold her own. They would also work on incorporating different types of magic into fights, such as transfiguration or charms, rather than just offensive and defensive spells.

Friday sessions were also longer, with them going from 1 through to 5, rather than 2 to 4 like on Mondays and Wednesdays, and were definitely the most draining session.  
During the first week of August, the OWL results had arrived as well as the Hogwarts letters. She wasn't surprised to find out that she didn't make Prefect; she had attacked a teacher the year before and no matter how angry she had been, that would be a big black mark on her record. Plus, there was her whole first year, as well as the fact that she was a bit more mischievous than a Prefect should be; her mum blamed that on Fred and George's influence, she blamed it on being the only girl in the family; she had to be able to get something over them. And she really didn't want to be Prefect anyway, it just wasn't something that appealed to her.

They had headed to Diagon Alley to do their shopping and finished their trip at the twins' shop. It was amazing to see all the work they had put in to the shop and their products. The shop was packed, and they seemed to be raking in the galleons. The whole alley was a lot more packed than she thought it would be.

Then again, the ministry was still denying the fact that Voldemort was back, meaning that no one was scared to go outside. She was actually surprised by how quiet the Death Eaters had been over the past year. She felt bad for Cedric though, his whole last year at Hogwarts had been tainted by people not believing him saying that Voldemort was back. And now he was probably struggling to find work at the ministry because they didn't want to hire someone who was 'unbalanced' and 'a liar'. Fred and George had offered him a job until he managed to find work though, so he was able to support himself.

On the third Monday of August, the whole house seemed tense at breakfast. Her mum and dad had been called to an emergency Order meeting the night before and now seemed extremely tense, although they wouldn't say why.

Hedwig and Errol flew through the window, bringing some much-needed relief from the tense atmosphere. They both carried a copy of the Daily Prophet, one that her parents always got and one for her and Hermione. They had teamed up to get a subscription and shared the paper, with it going to Hermione when they weren't staying together, and Hermione would send it over after finishing with it. She took the paper from Hedwig, being closer to the owl, stroking her feathers lightly in thanks. She unrolled the paper and laid it flat on the table in front of her. The front-page headline showed exactly why her parents seemed so tense.

_You-Know-Who Returns_   
_He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named breaks into the ministry with squad of masked Death Eaters_   
_Late last night, You-Know-Who was spotted leaving the Department of Mysteries with a squad of masked Death Eaters. This proves what Albus Dumbledore has been saying over the past year, when he was claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned and killed Harry Potter at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, a statement supported by Cedric Diggory, the Triwizard Champion who had apparently witnessed You-Know-Who's rebirth._   
_Multiple aurors were called to the Ministry last night on reports from the guards that there was a break in. They arrived just in time to see You-Know-Who in the atrium before he disapparated. The guards that had already been there had followed him to the Department of Mysteries, but hadn't engaged, waiting for backup to arrive._   
_The guards report that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named exited the Department of Mysteries, with a small orb clutched in his hand. The Death Eaters accompanying You-Know-Who attacked the guards when they saw them, but You-Know-Who simply ignored them, leaving them for the Death Eaters, who left them wounded but not dead. The guards are currently at St Mongos being healed._   
_This leaved many questions, including what He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was after, and what the Ministry is going to do to combat this threat to the Nation. Minister Fudge declined to comment._   
_Betty Braithwaite, Daily Prophet reporter_

**Wonder what he wanted,** Harry commented. She absently nodded, disregarding the others in the room.

**Who knows. Probably that thing that Remus and Sirius are always talking about guarding. You know, the guard schedule.**

**They didn't say where that was though, but I don't think most of the Order even knows what they're guarding. But you're probably right, I mean, Dumbledore told them that it was important to the war and that Voldemort couldn't get it.**

**Right. I wonder what could be so important that he had to go and collect it himself. Why not just send the Death Eaters?** She didn't receive a verbal reply, instead getting the impression that Harry had shrugged. Deciding that she would ask Sirius and Remus about it later, she put it out of her mind for the moment. She opened the paper, flicking through the other articles before passing the paper to Hermione to read.

"Oh my," Hermione gasped as she looked at the front page of the newspaper.

"What?" Ron asked.

"You-Know-Who broke into the Ministry. Everyone knows he's back."

**That's one good thing that came from that. Everyone knows he's back now.**

**They do, but at what cost. What he stole could give him the war.**

**Don't think like that Gin. We know how to defeat him; we will beat him.**

**We can hope,** she replied quietly.

Ginny was incredibly impatient, waiting for when she could floo over to Potter Manor. She wanted to get answers, and she was eager to keep working on the runes, because now she felt that she really had to do something to fight Voldemort.

She stepped out of the floo and headed straight up to the room they used when she was working on her runes. Just like she had been expecting, Remus and Sirius were waiting for her, the parchment and brush already set out. She moved to her spot but didn't pick up the brush. Instead, she stared at the two men on the couch opposite the desk she worked at, not wanting to work while talking about such as serious topic. Normally she just listened, so it was fine, but this time she had questions.

"What happened at the emergency meeting yesterday?" Sirius and Remus exchanged looks before Remus sighed.

"Did you see the Prophet this morning?" he asked, instead of answering her question.

"Yeah, I did. Do you know what he took?"

"We do. It was the reason that the emergency meeting was called." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and sighed before continuing.

"Dumbledore told us that Voldemort took a prophecy about him and Harry. The Order spent all of last year protecting it because Dumbledore didn't want Voldemort to hear what it says."

"He heard the first part during the last war, when one of his spies overheard it being made to Dumbledore," Remus added.

"How do you know it's about Harry?"

"It doesn't name him, and originally, two boys would have fit. Harry and Neville. But because Voldemort decided that Harry was the one mentioned in the prophecy, he is," Remus explained.

"Do you know what it says?" she asked. Sirius nodded, running his hand through his hair again, before reciting the prophecy.

"I wrote it down and we memorized it since it's about Harry," Remus added.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...

"Dumbledore told us when everyone was asking why he was so concerned about Voldemort knowing it. If Voldemort releases the contents of the prophecy, he will basically win the war because no one would think they could beat him."

"Both James and Lily, and Frank and Alice had faced Voldemort three times and escaped, and both Harry and Neville were born at the end of July. Originally, Voldemort only knew the first two lines, about how a boy would be born at the end of July with the power to vanquish him to parents who had thrice defied him. When he went after Harry, he marked him, making him the boy of the prophecy," Remus added.

"Dumbledore is convinced that the 'power the Dark Lord knows not' is love, because Voldemort doesn't know how to love, and Harry does." Sirius rolled his eyes and Ginny snorted.

 **How can love defeat Voldemort? What did Dumbledore expect me to do, hug him to death?** Harry commented, causing Ginny to giggle slightly. Remus and Sirius each raised an eyebrow at her giggling fit and she calmed herself down enough to explain.

"Something Harry just said. How can love defeat Voldemort? What did Dumbledore expect him to do, hug him to death?" That caused Remus to smirk and Sirius to let out a bark-like laugh.

"I have no idea," Remus admitted with a sigh.

"I would pay to see that. I can just imagine Voldemort's reaction if Harry went up and just hugged him, and wouldn't let go," Sirius added.

"I mean, he's not entirely wrong. I would say that the power the Dark Lord knows not would be our soul bond. It is based on love, but it also gives us more power. Plus, he doesn't expect Harry to still be alive in any way."

 **You're the power the Dark Lord knows not Gin. Not the soul bond. You.** She blushed slightly before repeating what Harry had said out loud for the two Marauders.

"Harry's not wrong. I mean, he won't expect you to be so powerful," Remus said after some thought. That just made her blush a bit more.

"You should get started on the runes. I think it's even more important that whatever ritual you're doing works, now that Voldemort has heard the prophecy," Sirius said. She nodded and picked up the brush, starting to carefully write out the runes that she needed. At the moment she was able to write them all correctly and was working on getting them written smaller but still correctly drawn. She wrote one rune over and over until she had written two lines of it, before switching to the next rune.

"What's Dumbledore's plan now?" she asked as she carefully finished the first line of Mannaz and started drawing it again.

"He's trying to work out different interpretations of the prophecy, ones that make it possible to defeat Voldemort without Harry." She nodded, being careful not to disrupt the runes she was writing.

"What about the rest of the Order?"

"He has us on look out for Death Eater activity and trying to gain more allies and members. Not anything different from usual. He wants me to try negotiations with the werewolf packs, but I told him that I'm not leaving my teaching job. The wolves are firmly Voldemort's anyway, it wouldn't do much good."

"Has he got anywhere with the interpretations?"

"No, he's stuck in the mindset that it means that only Harry can kill Voldemort and only Voldemort can kill Harry." She heard Remus sigh but didn't look up from her parchment and runes. She continued to work in silence, everyone in the room lost in their thoughts.

 **I think I have something,** Harry said after a while. She put the brush down so that she could give him her full attention.

 **It says that 'either must die at the hand of the other', right? Well, I remember Hermione mentioning something about how lots of words have multiple meanings. I think either is one of the ones with multiple meanings. If I remember correctly, it can mean one of the two, but it can also mean each of two. Using that, it could mean that each of the two must die at the hand of the other. And we've both done that. Voldemort was killed by me when he came after me during Halloween, and then he killed me in the graveyard. So, the prophecy could technically be fulfilled, meaning anyone can kill him now, since either has now died at the hand of the other, regardless of the fact that we both came back.** Harry said, adding the last part as an afterthought. She blinked, shocked by what Harry had worked out.

 **That's brilliant Harry.** She felt his rush of happiness at that, as well as his blush and how he stuttered, trying to deny his brilliance, reminding her of how little he was complimented during his childhood. She pushed the anger that thought brought aside to inform Sirius and Remus of what Harry had thought of.

"Harry just suggested something about a different interpretation," she said, looking up at the two adults. Remus and Sirius both stopped what they were doing, reading for Remus and watching Remus read for Sirius, and looked up at her.

"Really?" Sirius asked. She nodded.

"He mentioned that the words can have multiple meanings. Specifically, either, in the case. Either can mean many things, but the most common is one of the two, which is how everyone is interpreting it in the prophecy. But Harry pointed out that it can also mean each of the two. And that would mean that the prophecy has technically been fulfilled. Because Voldemort died at Harry's hand when Harry was a baby, and Harry died at Voldemort's hand at the graveyard. So, now anyone could kill him, because the prophecy has been completed, since both have died at the hand of the other." Both Remus and Sirius stared at her, shocked.

"That's brilliant," Sirius said faintly.

"And the prophecy says nothing about the 'power the Dark Lord knows not' being used to kill Voldemort, only that Harry would have the power," Remus murmured.

**See, I told you it was brilliant. You need to learn how to take a compliment.**

**I guess.** She shook her head slightly at his bashfulness.

"Harry still doesn't know how to take a compliment." Sirius laughed slightly, and Remus shook his head, clearly amused.

"We'll bring this up at the next Order meeting." She nodded, turning back to her runes. She still couldn't get them small enough so that 7 and 11 runes would fit on the locket. But she was getting closer.


	67. Blood

The next Order meeting was on the Friday after Voldemort had broken into the ministry. Sirius and Remus were some of the last to arrive at Headquarters. The meeting had been scheduled at 5:30, and they had been training Hermione, Ron, and Ginny until 5.

Sirius looked around the kitchen, the designated meeting room, working out who they were still waiting for. Dumbledore hadn't shown up yet, and neither had Snape. But then, he wasn't sure if Snape was meant to come to this meeting anyway. He took a seat at the end of the table, next to Molly, while Remus sat on his other side. Kingsley was sat opposite him with Minerva and Tonks on either side of him.

Not even two minutes later, the floo flared to life and Dumbledore stepped out and into the room, closely followed by Snape. Dumbledore sat down at the head of the table, while Snape leaned against the wall. Dumbledore surveyed everyone, before starting the meeting.

"It is good to see you all again. Kingsley, Tonks, how is the ministry handling things now that everyone knows Voldemort is back?"

"The Auror patrols have been increased, especially around Diagon Alley. They have been working on ensuring loyalty in the Ministers staff and the DMLE, as well as creating pamphlets to aid the public in staying safe, but it is slow work," Kingsley reported in his slow, steady voice. Tonks nodded in agreement, not adding anything else.

The meeting continued in the same fashion, with reports from various people that Sirius did his best to pay attention too. It was difficult though, considering it was the same thing every week from most people. It was simply reporting on how recruiting hadn't born any results, and the reports on the people they had been keeping tabs on, which didn't change much week to week. There was also the discussions about new bills that were being discussed and could possibly be raised by the Dark at the next Wizengamot session. Finally, Dumbledore said something that caught his attention again.

"Severus, what has Voldemort been doing now that he knows the full prophecy?"

"He hasn't changed the plans much, Headmaster. Potter is already dead, so he has decided that it doesn't effect any plans," Snape drawled. Dumbledore nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"On the subject of the prophecy, Headmaster," Remus said, leaning forward slightly, his hands resting on the table. Everyone's attention turned to him.

"Yes Remus?"

"Well, Sirius and I, with some help from a friend, worked out a different interpretation. An interpretation that would mean the prophecy has already been fulfilled."

"Who's this friend?" Tonks asked.

"Do we know them?" Arthur asked.

"How do we know they're not a spy for You-Know-Who?" Mad-Eye growled.

"They wish to remain anonymous, but rest assured they are on our side, I can guarantee it," Remus assured the room.

"What was this interpretation, Remus?"

"Well, as you know, many words can have multiple meanings. The specific word in the prophecy that has been given a different meaning changes the whole prophecy. Either, in the part that mentions 'either must die at the hand of the other'. Our friend pointed out that either can mean one of two, but it can also mean each of the two. Using that meaning, the prophecy becomes 'each of the two must die at the hand of the other', and that's already happened. Voldemort died at Harry's hand when he went to kill the Potters, and even though he did come back, he still died, and Harry died at Voldemort's hand at the end of the third task. That would mean that the prophecy is fulfilled and that anyone can now kill Voldemort. Plus, even though it mentions Harry having a 'power the Dark Lord knows not', it doesn't mean that that power would be used to kill him," Remus explained.

Everyone around the table stared at him, a few mouths hanging slightly open. No one spoke for a few minutes, trying to process what that would mean.

"That would definitely change things," Dumbledore finally said.

"It would change everything," Minerva breathed.

"It would mean we still have a chance," Molly said. Remus nodded, leaning back in his seat again.

"Please thank your friend for us Remus. They have given us back our hope," Dumbledore said. Remus nodded again, not saying anything else about Harry and Ginny.   
"Is there anything else? I have potions that I have to get back to," Snape drawled from his place against the wall. Dumbledore looked around the table.

"If no one has anything else to say, then that is the end of the meeting. I will see you all next week unless an emergency occurs." Dumbledore stood and disappeared through the floo. Snape left quickly after.

"We have to go too, I have to get started on dinner soon," Molly said, and she and Arthur stood. They said their goodbyes before flooing away.

"Before anyone else leaves. There is one more thing," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair slightly.

"Why did you not mention it at the meeting Sirius?" Kingsley asked.

"It's not about anything to do with the Order. However, Remus and I told our friend that we would help them out, and that leads me to asking you all a favor."

"What does your friend need?" Sirius sighed and ran his hand through his hair, looking at Remus for help making the request.

"Our friend has found a ritual that will weaken Voldemort and they are the only one who is able to perform the ritual. They swore on their magic that it wouldn't hurt anyone except Voldemort, but they won't tell anyone details. But there is an ingredient for the ritual that they can't get on their own, hence asking us for help," Remus explained.

"They need willingly given blood from 8 people, not including themself. Remus and I already gave our blood and we told them we would ask to see if we could get six other phials of willingly given blood. As Remus said, they swore on their magic that the ritual would only hurt Voldemort, and they also swore that they would only use the blood for this ritual against Voldemort, and that they would correctly dispose of the blood afterwards," Sirius finished.

Around the table, no one spoke, considering the request that Sirius was asking on behalf of someone they didn't know, someone they had never met, someone they hadn't even heard of before today. Eventually, Mad-eye spoke.

"How do we know you're telling the truth? Blood is a dangerous substance, especially willingly given," he growled.

"I will swear that you can trust them and that they made that vow," Sirius said.

"I want to know who they are," Kingsley put in. Remus shook his head.

"We promised to keep their name out of it."

"I'll do it, but only if you give that vow. And tell us more about the ritual," Minerva said. Sirius nodded.

"I don't know a lot, but our friend found a ritual to weaken a Dark Lord. They won't even say where they found it. The only thing they said, when asked about the origins, was that it was found in a book and was created by the author of the book, with evidence that it worked. The second step requires runes carved into the ground and then each rune covered in willingly given blood from a different person, not including the person completing the ritual," Sirius explained.

"Do they have a safe place to store the blood?" Tonks asked. Remus nodded.

"They do. They assured us that the place was extremely secure, and they are the only one able to access it at the moment."

"I'll do it," Tonks agreed.

"As will I," Fleur said.

"I will too," Bill said. Minerva nodded her assent and Kingsley inclined his head in agreement.

"I want that vow and one saying that you will give it to them when you see them next. And I want to be informed once my blood has been used and when the ritual is completed," Mad-eye said.

"Of course," Remus agreed. Sirius pulled six phials out of his pocket, along with a couple of knives. He handed them out, so that the six people agreeing to give their blood each had a phial, and three of them had a knife. Before any of them could cut themselves, Remus and Sirius gave the requested oaths.

Minerva, Kingsley, and Bill went first, slicing their palms and allowing their blood to fill up the phials. They each stoppered their phials and cleaned the knives of all their blood, before passing the knives to Mad-eye, Tonks, and Fleur. Again, three people allowed themselves to bleed into the phials.

Once each phial was filled and stoppered, and all the blood cleaned from the knives and palms, Remus requested they put their initials on the corks of each phial. Each person carefully carved their initials on top of the corks in the phials of blood, before handing the phials over to Sirius. He took them all with a nod, while Remus collected the knives.

"Thank you. Our friend will be extremely appreciative." With that, everyone that was still around said their goodbyes, before heading home, either via floo or apparition.


	68. Exploring

That Monday, Ginny stopped in at the Chamber of Secrets after her session with Remus and Sirius. They had given her the blood that the ritual needed, and she needed to store it in a safe place. When they handed the blood over, Remus made the request that Mad-Eye had made and she agreed, promising to let them know once each step of the ritual was complete.

After making sure that the blood was secure, she left the study, intent to explore the Chamber some more. She called Bonky and Kreacher, knowing they would be the ones who's presence wasn't missed, and asked them to start getting rid of the Basilisk corpse, making sure to keep any valuable material or ingredients separate from anything that would be vanished. She knew that Basilisk skin and blood was very valuable and she was planning on selling them, and she wanted the fangs so she could destroy the horcruxes.

As they worked, she moved down the Chamber, exploring further past the door. She had decided against going down where the Basilisk came from, not wanting to know what was down there. As she moved further down the Chamber, she found a large tunnel that looked around the same size as the one the Basilisk came out of. She lit the torches on the walls of the tunnel and cautiously ventured down it. The tunnel seemed to be on a slight incline, she noted absently.

At the end of the tunnel she found a few things that were perfect for what she needed. There was a door at the back of the room while a spiral staircase was in the middle of the room, leading up to somewhere out of sight, with the left side of the room holding a cabinet that was closed and a rack of what looked like weapons and other tools. There was also a large patch of dirt on the right side of the room, with faint outlines of runes used long ago still visible. As she got closer, she was able to distinguish the runes and recognized them as the ones she has been learning for the second part of the ritual.

 **It makes sense,** Harry chimed in. **Slytherin would have had to have done the ritual, for him to have written it. He did it before he left Hogwarts, so he would have had to do it somewhere on the school grounds. And if he was the only one who could get down here, he wouldn't have had to worry about getting rid of the runes, just the blood on them, which he probably had a different way of getting rid of then burning everything it touched, or had a different method of burning things.**

Ginny got closer, casting a point me spell to work out which way was North, wanting to check if Harry's idea was correct. She moved to the rune written in the North.

**Do you remember which rune was for the North?**

**Give me a minute and I'll find it,** Harry replied, before his presence shifted further away from the link and front of her mind. They had discovered that Harry was able to access her memories quite easily, making it a lot easier to remember things. They had also discovered a lot of things to do with her memory, including the fact that all the filing cabinets after the 'Harry' row were Harry's memories, rather than hers, starting with the side of the 'Harry' row which was actually Harry's 'Ginny' row.

 **Found it.** Harry's voice was fainter than when he was at their connection. She waited a moment and when he spoke again, his voice was clearer and at the normal volume. **Kaun is at the North point.**

 **Thanks Harry.** She bent closer to the rune and nodded. **That definitely looks like it was Kaun. Seems you were right. This is Kaun. Should I check the others to make sure?**

 **Probably better to be safe than sorry, don't you reckon.** Ginny nodded and set to examining the other runes, checking the positions with the runes needed for the ritual. After going around the whole circle, she was positive that this was where Salazar Slytherin had conducted the same ritual she was going to be using.

 **Well, we know where the second step can be done,** Ginny commented, standing up from the rune circle to continue her inspection.

She moved over to the cabinet and rack of weapons and tools. The rack held so many varieties of weapons. There were swords or different shapes and lengths that she didn't know the names of; daggers and their sheaths, each with a different design; bows and crossbows with multiple quivers stocked with arrows and bolts; staffs leaned against the wall next to the rack, each with its own unique, intricate design; shovels and other equipment that would be used for farming or moving dirt hung at the opposite side of the rack to the swords.

The cabinet was full of ritual materials, ingredients and materials lining the shelves. There were rune brushes and carving knives covering the lowest shelf. The two shelves above that were stocked with materials from creatures and humans alike. The top two shelves were full of ingredients from plants and the environment. She shut the door to the cabinet, knowing she would be able to come back later to investigate the materials further.

She moved to the spiral staircase in the middle of the room, slowly venturing up the steps. She walked around and around until the room she had started in was lost in the darkness. She soon reached a door, at what seemed to be level with the first floor, maybe second, but it was hard to tell, so it could have even been level with the dungeons, considering how deep the Chamber was. However, the stairs didn't stop. She looked at the door before shaking her head. She would investigate it later; at the moment she wanted to know where the stairs ended.

She continued up the stairs, passing 3 other doors as she went, but didn't stop, since the stairs continued to lead upwards. Eventually, she reached the top of the stairs, in a small room, which seemed to be made of steps that led to an archway at the other end of the room. The archway seemed to have a soft glow around it, similar to a glow the moon would cast. She stepped away from the stairs and walked through the archway.

She looked around finding herself in a courtyard that she had never seen before, but if she had to guess, it seemed like she was near the top of the castle, possibly on the roof. The floor was covered completely in stone, the stone walls standing tall and strong on every side. The only sign of life was the tree that stood in the middle of the courtyard, branches branching out, leaved providing a small shelter around the trunk. There was nothing else in the courtyard, nothing to obstruct the clear view to the sky above. It would be perfect for the steps that called for the light of the moon, especially because the third step required the locket to be left outside overnight.

She cast a quick tempus, wanting to know how long she had to explore the courtyard. She cursed when she saw that it was already six o'clock. Her mum would start to worry soon. With a sigh, she left the courtyard, stepping back into the room between the staircase and the courtyard. She called Bonky, and had Bonky take her back to Potter House so she could floo home.

"How is the Basilisk corpse coming?" she asked Bonky once she was at Potter Manor.

"It bes a slow process, Mistress Ginny. But Bonky and Kreacher bes getting there. Wes should be finished by end of the week," Bonky replied.

"Thank you Bonky. Make sure that you and Kreacher go to anyone that calls you and look after yourselves. Can you get me when you're done?"

"Yes, Mistress Ginny." She nodded and watched as the elf popped away again before flooing home, desperately trying to work out an excuse for why she was so late.


	69. Back Again

Ginny sat down on her bed in the tower, wondering how she should broach her question. She had everything else that she needed for the ritual, including the fangs from the Basilisk corpse which was completely taken apart and was in the process of being sold, apart from the months needed for each step. She had finally gotten her runes small enough to fit on the locket, and her rune carving was precise enough that she would be able to easily re-carve the runes in the Chamber. She had a diary with the moon phase written next to each date from Remus that she could use to mark down when her assignments and other homework were due as well; trust Remus to give her something that could be used for multiple purposes. All she needed to do was to ask the girls in her dorm the question about astrology.

She wasn't best friends with the two other girls in her dorm, and they both had friends in other houses or the males of their house in their year level, but they all got along pretty well. Which was a good thing considering they were destined to sleep together for another 3 years still, having already sent 4 together.

"Good holiday Demelza?" she asked.

"It was pretty good, yeah. Not looking forward to this year though. OWLs are supposed to be really difficult," Demelza replied, heading towards the bathroom to change for bed.

"Yeah, so my brothers have said. How were your holidays Romilda?"

"It was nice. We visited France for 2 weeks and that was nice. There was a lot of cute boys there and I found some new potion recipes for nail potions." Ginny smiled. Romilda had always been interested in Potions, especially potions for nail and hair care, and was the only Gryffindor in their year, or surrounding years, that didn't receive Snape's hate because of it.

"Did you do anything exciting Ginny?" Demelza asked as she returned from the bathroom, allowing Romilda her turn.

"I found a book that was talking about rituals and how they work best when performed during certain times of the year. Specifically, specific times when the sun and constellations are in certain positions. I think it had something to do with astrology."

"I didn't know you were interested in astrology signs Ginny," Romilda commented, walking out of the bathroom. Ginny grabbed her sleep clothes and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind it.

"I'm not usually," she replied as she got changed. "But these rituals seem really interesting. I don't want to actually do them, but it would be nice to understand when the best times to do them would be." She walked out of the bathroom again, flopping down on her bed.

"Which signs do you need? I really enjoy astrology signs and the like."

 **Scorpio, Aries, and Gemini,** Harry provided, knowing that she couldn't remember off the top of her head.

"Scorpio, Aries, and Gemini," she repeated.

"Oh, that's easy. Scorpio is from October 23rd to November 21st. Aries is March 21st to April 19th, and Gemini is May 21st to June 20th," Romilda replied after a minute of thought. Ginny nodded, pulling the diary that Remus had gotten her out of her bedside table and grabbing a self-inking quill. She flicked through the pages, marking down the astrological sign next to the moon phases for the months she needed.

"Thank you heaps Romilda," Ginny said as she wrote the information down. She had her dates now. She pulled the sheet that contained the instructions for the ritual out from its place between two pages in the diary, flattening the parchment so she could reread it.

Below the instructions she made notes of which dates each step would be started and finished in the case of step two. The first step, the full moon during Scorpio, would be on October 27th. The second step would be started on April 15th, ending on April 30th. The third step would be completed on June 5th. She also made sure to put down what day each step had to be completed in her diary, so that she would have a reminder whenever she looked at her diary during the day.

Once all her notes were made and she was sure that she wouldn't forget when each step had to be done, she closed the diary, placing it and the instructions back inside her bedside table, before warding it securely. She didn't want anyone snooping, and especially didn't want anyone to take her diary or the instructions.

Ginny was reading in the common room the next day, as it was Sunday, when she saw Hermione reading nearby. Seeing Hermione reading made her remember the book that she had finally finished translating for her during the train ride the day before.

She headed up to her dorm, pulling the translated book out of her trunk, before heading back down into the common room. She plopped down in the chair beside Hermione, placing the book on the arm of Hermione's armchair.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, having looked up from her book when Ginny placed the new book next to her.

"The book you asked me to translate. I, well Harry, finished translating during the train ride yesterday." Hermione picked the book up, examining the title, Dark Arts 1, before flicking through the pages.

"Thank you, Ginny. And Harry. What's with the name?"

"Well, it was handwritten, so I'm guessing it's the first of a set that the author wrote, or they might have just used the title to remind themselves what was in it. Harry's started translating one other in the language if you want it after it's done?" she offered.

"Could I? That would be amazing. Thank you," Hermione said sincerely. Ginny smiled, watching as Hermione eagerly started reading the translated book, the book she had previously been reading seemingly forgotten. Ginny stood, moving to sit where she had been previously, next to the window. She stared out the window for a little, watching the clouds and admiring the nice weather. Maybe she would go flying after she finished the next couple of chapters. She nodded to herself, deciding to do that, and opened her book again.


	70. Step #1

Ginny woke up with a groan, pulling herself out of bed. They had had Quidditch training the previous night after dinner and she was very sore and tired; Katie, who was captain as she was the only original member of the team, aside from the seeker and keeper who had been added the year before, had pushed them hard and they hadn't stopped until it was too dark to see the balls. She had a full day of classes today before she went down to the Chamber for the first step of the ritual that night. Plus, she had classes tomorrow, as well as one of her training sessions with Remus.

Her sessions with Remus had dropped back down to one a week, with the occasional second session on the weekend, so that she had time to do all her homework, which had increased drastically since it was her OWL year, and her Quidditch practice, as well as still have time to relax or do anything else she wanted to do with her free time. She wasn't happy about that, since she really enjoyed the lessons, but Remus and Sirius had both insisted.

She allowed herself to stand under the hot water of the shower for longer than she normally would, the heat helping to relax her sore muscles. They had their first game coming up that weekend and Katie was pushing them harder and harder each session. The chasers especially were being put through their paces, as Katie did her best to get all three of them to work well together and pull off the moves that Angela and Alicia used to do with Katie. Ginny was often put as the lead in a formation, and she was also often the one who would take the hard shots, as she could put a lot of force behind her throws, which were extremely accurate. Her duelling practice with Remus and Sirius had definitely come in handy when it came to accuracy.

She eventually pulled herself out of the shower, to get dressed and head down to breakfast, knowing that it was going to be a long day.

When she got back to the tower after classes that day, she hated the fact that she had been right. And she still had to complete the first step of the ritual to find the evil objects, as the ritual called them. She dumped her bag next to a chair, pulling out some parchment to start her homework. She wanted to get the homework that was due the next day and only assigned today out of the way before dinner, so she could head straight to the Chamber to set up after she had eaten.

She managed to get through the essay for Arithmancy that was due the next day, as well as starting the one for Potions that wasn't due until the day after, as that was the next homework due. She spelled her ink dry, a handy charm that she was still so glad they learnt in first year, before packing her work away before heading up into her dorm.

She pulled all her class stuff out of her bag, placing her assignments and spare parchment in the second draw of her bedside table, while her books for class went on the top of her bedside table. Once her bag was empty, she started to repack it with everything she would need for the ritual in a few hours. Pretty much everything she would need was in the Chamber, meaning she only had to put the invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map into the bag, which would make it easier for her to get down to the Chamber and back up again undetected. She then made sure that the sheet of parchment with the instructions was packed as well, along with a sheet containing each of the runes needed for each step, with each rune labelled as well, in case she forgot which was which.

She double checked that everything she would need was in her bag before heading back down into the common room and continuing on to the Great Hall for dinner. She already knew how she would explain away her absence; she would tell the girls in her dorm that she had slept in Hermione's room, which had a spare bed and was something she had done in previous years because of nightmares, and she would tell Hermione that she had gone to bed early. She didn't want anyone asking questions about where she had been, and she didn't want to tell anyone what she was doing. Especially because she knew some people would want to stop her, do it themselves, or join in, which she couldn't allow.

She hurriedly ate her dinner, being careful not to rush too much though, in case anyone got suspicious, especially Hermione and Ron, who she seemed to hang out with most, other than Luna. She glanced up at the enchanted ceiling, noticing that the sky was starting to darken, meaning she would have to head down soon. She still had to get everything from Slytherin's study and the ritual spot and then head up to the courtyard where she was going to perform the ritual. She was at least glad that one of the rooms leading off from Slytherin's study was a bedroom, so she would be able to at least get a couple of hours sleep between the start and the end of the ritual while the blood absorbed into the locket in the light of the moon without having to track back to Gryffindor Tower and then back to the Chamber.

She excused herself from the table and quickly left the Great Hall. She continued down the halls before slipping into an empty classroom when no one was around. She pulled the invisibility cloak on and slipped back out of the classroom, heading quickly up to the second-floor girl's bathroom. She had, unfortunately, been unable to find any other entries into the Chamber with her explorations so far. She hadn't had time yet to explore the other doors that led off from the stairway up to the courtyard, or the door near the staircase, and she hoped one of those would provide another way to enter the Chamber. 

As soon as she entered the Chamber she headed straight over to the study, stuffing the invisibility cloak back into the bag as she moved. She pulled the locket out of the draw it was secured in, placing it in her bag on top of the invisibility cloak. She then pulled out two phials of her blood, placing them securely in the front pocket of her bag. She was pretty sure she would only need one phial, but it was better to be safe than sorry; she really didn't want to run out of blood halfway through all the runes.

She shut the draw holding the blood and left the study, heading over to the ritual area. Ginny opened the cabinet holding all the different equipment and selected some of the finer ritual brushes, placing them, still in their protective casings, in the bag next to the locket. She did the bag up before heading over to the stairway and quickly starting the climb. She had forgotten how many stairs there were and how high they went and hoped she would get to the top in time. If she missed the moon rising, she would either have to find another ritual, hope that it worked if the timings were slightly off, or wait until the next year to try again.

She eventually reached the top and walked straight to the centre of the courtyard. She was happy to see that, even though the sky was dark, and the sun was basically completely set, the moon hadn't started to rise yet. She gently placed her bag on the ground under the tree in the centre, being careful so as to not break the phials holding her blood.

Carefully watching the sky, she began preparing things for the ritual. She pulled the two ritual brushes out and examined them. She decided on the longer, thinner one, deciding that it looked the most like the brush she had been practicing with and was thin enough that the runes would be able to be drawn small and accurately, and still all fit on the locket. She had a feeling that she would need to use an even thinner one for the last step, but she wouldn't know until after she had completed this step first.

After putting the brush she wasn't going to be using back into the bag, she pulled the locket out, gently placing it on the ground next to the brush she was going to be using. The brush was still in its protective casing, so as to not get dirt or anything else on it before she had to use it. Next, she pulled out the two sheets of parchments, so she could check which runes she needed and double check what they looked like. Finally, she brought the phials of her blood out of the front pocket of her bag. With the two phials held carefully in one hand, she picked up the brush, locket, and parchments with the other, before moving further away from the tree. The locket had to sit in full light of the moon, and it would be more beneficial for the runes to be drawn where the few rays of moonlight while the moon rose could hit it as well. The tree would only block the moonlight, so she couldn't do the ritual under it.

She saw the first rays of moonlight beginning to appear on the horizon and sat down on the ground, legs folded in front of her, her right slightly covering her left. She placed one phial of her blood on the ground next to her, while the other was placed, upright and unstoppered, between her legs. The parchments were placed next to each other in front of her, for easy referencing. She removed the ritual brush that she had chosen from its protective casing, placing the casing on the ground next to the spare phial of blood. Finally, she picked the locket up in her right hand, holding it securely in her palm, hand resting on her leg to keep her hand steady. She watched the moon rise higher and dipped the tip of the brush into the phial of blood.

She carefully began to draw the runes on the locket. First, she drew Kaunan, making sure the lines were straight and the point of the open c-like shape sharp. Next, Ewhaw was drawn. She kept the lines straight and the points sharp, making sure that the lines were the right length in comparison to each other in the M-like shape, the two points in the middle going only a quarter of the way down the vertical lines on either side. The third rune was Mannaz. Each side of the rune was drawn with sharp points, the two diagonal lines that crossed over each other meeting right in the middle, while connecting with the opposite vertical line halfway down. Next came Wanjo, the sharp p-like rune quickly and meticulously joining the first three runes covering the locket.

Ginny carefully shifted the locket in her palm, making it so she could get to the other half of the top half easier. She had to be careful not to smudge any of the runes already drawn and it took a minute for her to safely shift the locket before she could continue writing.

The fifth rune to be drawn was Nied and it was the first that wasn't fully straight. The straight, vertical line came first before Ginny carefully drew the line going diagonally across the vertical line, making sure that the curves at either end were small but pronounced. Peor was the next rune and again the points were sharp and the lines straight. The v's on the top and bottom were the same length, and both pointed a quarter of the way down the vertical backing line. Finally, Calc was drawn. The vertical line was as straight as all the other lines, and the two legs that branched off at the bottom were angled out at about forty-five degrees, with the vertical line ending at the same point as the two legs.

She carefully placed the locket on the ground, making sure that it wasn't in or near any shadows, wanting it to be in full light of the moon as the instructions directed. She moved back from the locket so that she didn't obstruct any light that could get to it. Stepping back to her bag, she carefully packed up the equipment she had used, making sure to use water to properly and completely clean the blood off the ritual brush, and making sure the phial of blood, which still had about a quarter of the blood left, was stoppered and fully sealed; she didn't want any blood to leak out. After making sure that the ritual brush was completely clean, she carefully dried it, making sure not to bend the bristles out of shape, before putting it back into its protective casing.

She placed the casing back into the main pocket of her bag, while the phial went back into the front pocket, along with the spare, unused phial of blood. The parchments similarly went back in her bag, in the main pocket with most of the other items. She slung her bag over her shoulder, careful not to jostle it, in case she broke either of the phials, before heading out of the courtyard.

She walked down the stairs, making sure to go slowly so as to not trip since she was tired from the long day. Her hand ran along the railing as she walked, helping to steady her the few times she stumbled. She eventually made it back down to the ritual area and headed over to the cabinet, replacing the ritual brush and its casing, as well as the ritual brush she didn't use. She continued on through the Chamber, back to Slytherin's study. She replaced the phials of blood into the draw that held all of the willingly given blood she had collected for the ritual before re-warding it securely shut.

With everything she had used for the ritual back where it belonged, she headed into the bedroom attached to the study. She dropped her bag at the end of the bed, before pulling her robes off; she knew she would regret it in the morning if she slept in them. Placing her robes on the chair next to the bed, she unstrapped the wand holsters from her arm; she knew from experience that it wasn't comfortable sleeping with them. She placed their wands on the chair with her robes and wand holsters and set an alarm with her wand, set to wake her up at three-thirty. She wasn't sure what time the moon would be setting and wanted to make sure she was back in the courtyard before it fully set, so that she didn't mess the ritual up. Hopefully, she would be able to get a couple of hours after she collected the locket, otherwise she would not have a good day. Content with the knowledge that she would be woken when she needed, she collapsed on the bed, allowing herself to drift into sleep.

Ginny snapped her eyes open and rolled over, feeling for her wand that was on the chair next to the bed, wanting to turn the incessant ringing of her alarm off. She was awake, she just wasn't happy about it, and loud, annoying noises were not going to help her mood; she so wasn't a morning person; that was Harry. She climbed out of the bed and pulled on her school robes from the day before, since she hadn't brought anything else to wear, grabbing her bag and wand, leaving the wand holsters and Harry's wand on the chair to grab later.

She allowed Harry to take over slightly, especially with her legs, as he was much more of a morning person than her and would be awake enough to help them avoid walking into anything; her coordination wasn't very good when she was tired, especially in the mornings. Working together, they made it up the stairs and back into the courtyard. Ginny looked to the sky and saw the moon close to the horizon, but not close to setting yet, so headed towards the tree. She sat down, leaning against the tree, and cast a spell to see the time. It was ten to four in the morning. She yawned again, as she had been doing a lot on the walk up, her arms stretching up above her.

Knowing that Harry was fully awake, since he could fully wake up in 5 minutes or less, she allowed him to fully take control of their body before retreating into their mind for more sleep. Their body wouldn't get the benefits of sleeping, but she would, meaning she would be more awake for the day, even if her body felt sluggish by the end of it.

Harry leant against the tree as he felt Ginny drift off to sleep. He had always enjoyed the quiet, serene atmosphere of early mornings when no one was awake to disturb him. He simply sat, in a type of meditation, since Ginny couldn't sleep if their body was active, watching the sky as the moon travelled closer and closer towards the horizon, getting closer and closer to setting. Eventually, he decided that the moon was extremely close to setting, meaning he should probably wake Ginny up again; she wanted to be awake and in control for the whole ritual. Pulling up the time again with the same spell Ginny had used before, he saw that it was approaching five-thirty, so she should be a bit more coherent.

He stepped back into their shared mind and easily found Ginny curled up on the couch that was in the corner where he normally was, unless he was looking around Ginny's memory for something for her. He gently shook her shoulder.

"Come on Gin, time to wake up," he said softly. He had seen what happened to anyone who forcefully woke Ginny up and did not want that to happen to him, thank you very much. She could get vicious. Ginny sat up slowly, stretching as her mouth widened into a yawn.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"About five-thirty. The moon is beginning to set." She nodded, moving slowly off the couch, allowing herself time to wake up again, even if she wouldn't be fully awake for a while longer. Once fully awake, Ginny left their mind, returning to her body.

She stood up, shaking her limbs out to get rid of the pins and needles that had developed from sitting in the same positions for such a long time. She looked up at the sky and saw that Harry was right and that the moon was setting, already halfway down the horizon. She walked towards the locket, picking it up, placing it in her bag as the last sliver of the moon disappeared from sight.

She zipped the bag up, heading back down the stairs and into the Chamber. She headed straight to the study, finding the path easily from all the time she had spent in there over the past few months. In the study, she locked the locket up in the draw it had come from before the first step of the ritual, making sure that no light would be able to touch the locket. Once sure that the locket would be protected and nothing would mess up what had to happen between steps, she left the study, moving back into the bedroom.

In the bedroom she picked up both of her wand holsters, strapping them to each of her arms, before sliding each wand into its respective holster. She pulled the invisibility cloak out of her bag, draping it over her arm, to put on when she left the Chamber. She also pulled the Marauder's Map out of her bag as well, slipping it into one of the pockets of her robe. She checked the time again and saw that it was just after six. She should be able to get back up to the common room so she could get changed before most people were up, she would just have to be careful of teachers and the early risers who were heading to the library; breakfast didn't start until 7.

She left the bedroom, passing straight through the study and out into the main chamber. She headed straight out the passage and to the slide that led back up to the school and the girl's bathroom. Harry called for the stairs and opened the exit, and she pulled the invisibility cloak on before heading up. Using the map, she was able to get back to the common room without passing anyone, while the cloak stopped the portraits from talking about seeing her earlier than most were up.

She got back up to her dorm before slipping the cloak off again, closing the map and storing both back in her trunk. She got changed into another pair of school robes, before going about her morning routine to get ready for the day. She was too awake now to go back to sleep, unfortunately, however much she really wanted to, and she was only able to sleep in her mind when their body wasn't active, so she didn't have that option for during the day either. Now all she had to do was get through the day, classes, and her session with Remus. Hopefully five and a half hours of sleep would be enough, compare to her usual nine to ten hours.


	71. Quidditch

Ginny pulled herself out of bed and headed straight to the shower. She had her first Quidditch game of the season that day and she was still sore from her session with Remus the night before. She had fought a larger group of dummies during the battle part of the session and her magic had been stretched and worked more than it had in a few weeks. But she was looking forward to the game today, despite her sore muscles; it was against Slytherin and she was determined to win.

She grabbed her broom before leaving the dorm, wanting to go straight down to the pitch after breakfast; their game uniform was already in the Gryffindor team rooms. She headed down and out of the common room to the Great Hall. The rest of the team were already at breakfast and she went to sit with them. They were quietly discussing anything and everything that had nothing to do with Quidditch, leaving that talk for the change room.

Half an hour later, Katie stood and led the team out of the hall and down to the change rooms. They had 30 minutes before the game, so they would have time to get changed and talk tactics, as well as warm up before the game. Once in the change room, Katie headed to the captain's office while the rest of the team grabbed their uniforms and put them on. They all got changed and stood around talking while they waited for Katie. Five minutes later she walked out, uniform on and a strategy board in hand.

"Alright, we know how Slytherins play. They'll play dirty and we have to work with that. Peakes, Coote, I want you to do your best to knock them off their brooms. Disrupt their chaser plays and keep the bludgers away from us. You'll be the main target Creevey, so stay out of the way until you see the snitch. Weasley, I don't care how you do it, but don't let any of their goals in.

"Robbins, Weasley, we'll start with Hawkshead attacking formation as soon as we get the Quaffle, Weasley heading like we've practiced. If they intercept, we switch to Porskoff Ploy, and use up-passes." Katie continued like that for a while, making sure that all the chasers knew how they would be playing and their formations.

"Weasley, you're back up seeker if Creevey is has to go off; if that happens, or anything else that would make one of us go off, Thomas you're on. Finnigan, you're second reserve just in case. Alright team, we're ready. We'll go for two warm-up laps as the spectators come in." Everyone nodded and they walked out onto the pitch, brooms in hand.   
The team all pushed off and soared into the air. Ginny let Harry take over for the first lap, which they always did since they both loved the rush of flying and Harry couldn't do it often. Harry flew the lap at a steady pace, keeping pace with the rest of the team. The second lap had Ginny taking control again as they did a lap at speed. The team landed before heading over to the center of the pitch where Madame Hooch was standing with the Quidditch box. The Slytherin team were approaching Madame Hooch as well.

"Captains, shake hands," Madame Hooch said. Katie and Urquhart shook hands and Ginny saw Katie hold in a wince from the force that Urquhart squeezed her hand.

"I want a nice, clean game from all of you." Ginny shook her head slightly. She couldn't believe that Madame Hooch still thought that it would be a clean game; the Gryffindor-Slytherin games never were. She released the snitch and Ginny knew that Harry was instinctively tracking it before it disappeared. The bludgers were released next, which marked all the players to mount their brooms. The whistle blew and everyone kicked off as Madame Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air.

Ginny shot forward, grabbing the Quaffle before Zabini could grab it. She shot off towards the goals, passing the Quaffle back and forth between her and Katie as they flew, while Demelza shot ahead to be in position to take the feint at goal. Ginny rolled, gripping the broom tight as a bludger rocketed through the air, right where her head had been, but thankfully missing her. She swerved up as Vaisey shot at her, narrowly avoiding a collision.

They reached the goal circle and Katie passed to Demelza. Ginny drifted to the side and down slightly, so that she was positioned almost directly below Demelza, but slightly to the left, while the Slytherin team concentrated on Demelza who looked to be about to score. Demelza took aim at the center goal and started to throw. The Slytherin keeper shot forward, aiming to intercept the goal. But Demelza didn't release the Quaffle at the peak of her throw, instead continuing the throw so that the Quaffle shot down, straight to Ginny. Ginny grabbed the Quaffle and threw straight at the right goal, not giving the Slytherin keeper enough time to regain his bearings to block the goal.

"Gryffindor score. Ten-zero to Gryffindor and Slytherin takes possession." Ginny could faintly hear the commentary as she flew fast through the air, wind rushing in her ears. Demelza managed to grab the Quaffle as Peakes hit a bludger at Urquhart, causing him to drop it. She switched directions, heading back to the Gryffindor goals as Demelza and Katie passed back and forth as they headed down the pitch. Katie passed to her and she held the Quaffle tight, dodging the bludgers as the came at her. She passed back to Katie right as the three Slytherin chasers went to mob her, making her have to head straight up to avoid a collision. Katie scored as the Slytherin chasers only just managed to avoid each other.

As the game continued, the tactics started to get dirtier, just like Katie had said they would. A time out had to be called a couple of times so that multiple players could have a talking to, and a penalty could be taken, such as when Goyle hit a bludger at Ron when the Quaffle was at the other end of the pitch, or when Vaisey elbowed Katie in the head. Gryffindor were playing dirty as well though, with Peakes and Coote doing their best to knock the Slytherins off their brooms or aiming at heads and chests. Plus, Colin was doing his best to disrupt the Slytherin chaser plays, speeding into their formations to make them scatter, while Katie, Demelza and Ginny took to playing rougher to get possession of the Quaffle.

Gryffindor were leading, but only just at 100-90. Ginny was hoping that Colin would get the snitch soon; the players were getting into risk of serious injury with how dirty and rough the game was getting, and the game was threatening to go continue into the night; the sky was already starting to get darker.

Ginny caught the Quaffle from Katie, dodging a bludger and Zabini before passing to Demelza. They were nearing the goals again, and Ginny hoped they could score again to widen the gap. She caught the Quaffle again, feinting for the right goals before taking aim and throwing towards the left. She grinned as the Quaffle passed through the hoops, the Slytherin keeper having fallen for her feint, just as the stands erupted into cheers.

She turned around, listening hard for the commentary that was able to faintly be heard through the wind. Just as she was able to make out what was being said, her eyes caught sight of Colin, who was hovering in place, hand in the air, fist closed. He had gotten the snitch. They had won, 260-90. The team headed down to the ground, crowding Colin as they celebrated. Gryffindor streamed onto the pitch to celebrate with the team.

"Party in the common room," someone yelled, gaining more cheers from the surrounding crowd of Gryffindors, the small mob starting to move back towards the common room. Ginny grinned widely as she celebrated with the rest of the team.


	72. Holiday Season

Before she knew it, it was the Christmas holidays, and she was on the train heading home. The term had been pretty good, if you discounted the fact that she was getting heaped in homework that she had to get done around Quidditch practice and sessions with Remus, which she had refused to give up. On top of that, Snape had gotten even worse towards the Gryffindors during Potions, which made focusing in the class hard enough, let alone being able to complete the potion they were making.

On a positive note, however, Remus had started a defense club every Saturday afternoon for those who wanted to take their defense to the next level. He had been planning on starting it the year before, but with Umbridge around, he wasn't able to. Not without her interfering, anyway. But now he had a good reason to start the club and it had quickly dwindled down to only those who were serious about protecting themselves, with everyone who had come for a laugh or just for fun having left after the first session. At one point, Harry had even pointed out that it seemed like Remus was preparing the students for a battle, having organized the training sessions in a very military-like structure. They had both agreed though, that that would be beneficial if Voldemort tried to attack Hogwarts, since the trained students could help safely evacuate the other students.

According to the owls her mum had been sending to keep them informed, the whole family was going to be at the Burrow for Christmas, minus Percy, who still wasn't talking to the family, despite it being public knowledge that Voldemort had returned. She was happy to know that Fleur was going to be there as well, since she was now engaged to Bill; she really liked Fleur and was glad that she was happy, especially since it meant that Bill was happy too.

She also knew, from what Remus had said during their last lesson, that everyone had been invited over to Potter Manor on Christmas day. Originally, her mum had invited Sirius and Remus to join them for lunch and dinner, but they had quickly come to the conclusion that there wouldn't be enough space. The Burrow was crowded enough when the whole Weasley family was there, let alone when Hermione and Fleur were there, and adding Sirius and Remus to the mix too would make it extremely uncomfortable.

 **You know that your mum only agreed to it because Remus told her that she could bring dessert,** Harry said. Ginny giggled quietly. Harry wasn't wrong.

"What are you laughing at?" Ron asked. Ginny broke out of her thoughts to look up at Ron, who was staring at her.

"Something Harry said," she said. Ron cast a glance at Luna, who was sitting next to Ginny, humming contentedly as she read The Quibbler, before turning to face her again. Luna hadn't even looked up from the magazine at Ginny's comment, and if she found it weird, she didn't say anything. Then again, Luna had a habit of just somehow knowing things, so she wouldn't be surprised if she already knew about her and Harry.

"Ok then." He turned back to his conversation with Neville, who hadn't heard what Ginny had said, and was also sitting in the carriage with them, as was Hermione, who was absorbed in a book. The five of them (Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna) had become close friends through the DA, or the Defense Association, which was the defense group that Remus was running.

 **Do you reckon Remus and Sirius will ask about the ritual?** Harry asked.

**Probably. Remus did say that they would want to know when the blood is used, so he will probably ask, since we haven't been talking about it during our sessions.**

**Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot about that.** Ginny turned her attention away from Harry and into the present around her, joining in the conversation that Ron and Neville were having about the holidays.

"Gran and I will probably be going to some of the family Yule balls. The Longbottom family is a prominent family, and we can't let our social standing and reputation drop by missing the balls, as much as I dislike them," Neville said.

"Family balls? Social standing and reputation?" Ginny asked, intrigued. It sounded like something that had to do with Lordships and Ladyships, meaning she would have to understand what he was talking about; she wouldn't let any of Harry's families drop because of her actions.

"The family Yule balls. The leading families hold balls every Yule, as well as during the Summer Solstice, Samhain, and Beltane. There are usually four balls for each occasion for both the Light and the Dark factions, with neutral families being invited to ones on either side, depending on how they lean. It's extremely rude to refuse an invitation, especially without a good reason. The social standing is how people know where they stand in comparison to other families. At the moment, I'm pretty sure that the Peverell family is the top family overall, followed by Black and then Malfoy; the Potter family is sitting within the top ten still, I think. Black is only just holding on though, because of everything that happened to the family while Sirius was in Azkaban, leaving the family without a Head. And no one has a hope of passing Peverell at the moment, since they have so much money in various investments, but that will probably change eventually; no one has been Head of the Peverell family for years; everyone thinks it's died out. And reputation is everything in the pureblood families, so I can't risk making any slights by not attending, especially since I'm heir apparent," Neville explained.

 **I had no clue about any of that,** Harry said, and Ginny could feel his confusion at the situation.

**Neither did I. And you have an excuse; you didn't grow up in the magical world.**

**Yeah, but you would think that Sirius would have mentioned something about it. And you have a reason as well; you definitely weren't in line for anything and your family don't really have a high standing in pureblood society.**

**True. And that's how most of them are happy to keep it.**

"What goes on at the balls?" Ginny asked, eager to learn more.

"It starts with a lot of socialising and introductions. People talk and discuss things and drink champagne. Then the host welcomes everyone and announces the start of the meal. Everyone is seated by rank and the importance their family has in relation to the hosting family. During the meal everyone talks quietly and drink wine. After the meal, the music starts and so does the dancing. The dancing is important, because not dancing can sour your reputation. Any time during dance that is sat out can be used to discuss more things and enjoy after dinner drinks. A lot of information can be gained in those few hours," Neville explained. Ginny nodded, wondering how long she would have to learn all the necessary etiquette and other things before she could start attending to keep the family names that Harry had passed to her afloat. Maybe Sirius would be able to help her. At least she could chose when to announce her titles, meaning she could learn everything before releasing them.

"Why the interest?" Neville asked. Ginny shrugged, not really sure how to explain it. Neville didn't question it, instead continuing to talk about what he was going to do during the holidays aside from the balls.

The train pulled into the station and the five of them got off, pulling their trunks behind them. They easily found their parents, since her mum and dad's red hair stuck out in the crowd, and Luna's dad and Neville's gran were with them, since their families knew about their growing friendship.

"Oh good, there you two are. Hermione, your parents said that it was fine for you to come to us tomorrow, but they want to see you during the holidays at least. They're waiting on the other side of the barrier for you. Come on, let's go, we don't want to hang around in this climate." Her mum hurried them quickly away, ushering them through the barrier as fast as she could, which was hard considering that was what every family on the station was trying to do. Hermione gave hurried goodbyes before heading to her parents, promising to see them tomorrow. As soon as her mum was happy that Hermione was safe with her parents, she took her hand, while her dad took Ron's, apparating them back home. Her mum only calmed down once they were all safe in the wards around the property.

Christmas was a few days later and Ginny was woken up by Ron barging into her room, slamming her door open. She knew that he was going to do that, considering he did that every year, so this year she was prepared. She had jinxed the doorframe and floor around the door before going to bed the night before, meaning he didn't get to her bed to wake her up. Instead, he was unable to move past the doorframe, having hit an invisible wall of sorts, while his appearance had changed into various colours, none of which went together well. His hair had changed to an extremely vibrant scarlet, while his skin was a vivid blue. His clothes were neon, his top was orange and his pants yellow, while his shoes were a neon green.

She had shot awake as soon as her door had burst open and was now openly laughing at his predicament, while Harry was laughing in her head. She was glad, however, that Fred and George were staying at the Burrow for the holidays, since it meant she could simply tell her mum that she had gotten the twins to do the magic for her; they'd most likely back her up. Hermione had woken up from her laughing, since they were sharing a room and Hermione had arrived a few days ago, and was staring at Ron, mouthing wordlessly at him.

"Ginny," Ron whined from his position at the door.

"Yes?" she asked innocently once she had stopped laughing enough to talk.

"Why?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ron gestured to himself. Ginny simply raised her eyebrow. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hermione covering her mouth with one hand.

"Why would you do this?"

"I just thought that you should learn to knock first," she said sweetly, causing Harry to start laughing again. "And if anyone else asks, the twins did it for me yesterday." The twins already knew that she could do magic outside school, since she had explained most things after they had found out that she was Lady Gryffindor.

"Change me back," Ron demanded. Ginny smirked.

"No can-do Ron. Sorry." Ron glared at her for a moment before sticking his tongue out at her.

"Fine, be like that. Well, I was coming to wake you up because it's Christmas and we have presents and mum's already made breakfast." He turned around and walked out of sight. As soon as Ron was out of sight, Hermione broke out in giggles that she had been containing while Ron was there.

"That was brilliant Ginny. But why didn't you take it off?" Ginny's smirk turned into a grin.

"I can't even if I wanted to. It's time activated; it won't come off for 12 hours. And the colours will change every time someone tries to take it off."

"That's amazing. How did you do it?"

"I talked to George about how they made the fireworks change when someone tries to vanish or stun them, and I asked Fred about some of their colour-changing products. I just worked them together. And the invisible wall was something that Remus taught me during one of our lessons; it was originally designed to trap people in a battle, since you can only cross through the walls in one direction without taking the wall down first. It's not a commonly known spell. Remus only knew it since he often used it to get some privacy from Sirius and James while at school, especially when he wanted to read without interruption. I can teach it to you once we get back to school if you want," she offered.   
"Yes please, it sounds like it would be useful."

"We should probably head down. I also need to head Fred and George off before they get downstairs so they can back up my story." Hermione nodded in agreement and they both got up, quickly getting dressed before leaving the room. Ginny flicked her wand as she walked through the door, murmuring the counter spell to take the wall down so they could get back into the room later.

Hermione headed straight downstairs, while Ginny stopped outside the twins room. She would go in but knew better, since they most likely had pranks on the door that would activate if anyone but them entered the room. Instead, she leant against the wall near the door, since she knew they had put a sensor around their room, so they knew whenever someone was near their door. She was right since it wasn't long before both Fred and George exited the room.

"How can we help you this morning Gin Gin?" they asked. She rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Well, I need you guys to back me up in my story. I may or may not have jinxed my door so that any male entering without knocking would get pranked. But I don't want to tell mum that I can do magic outside school..." she trailed off and smiled them. She would tell her mum about everything, but then her mum would freak out and fuss about everything; it was easier to just not. Fred and George were both wearing identical grins.

"It would be our pleasure," George said.

"What did you do to our ickle Ronnikins?" Fred asked eagerly.

"He may or may not have become multicolored, and with colours that will switch whenever someone tries to change him back. And the colours may not go together very well. And it will could possibly stay like that for 12 hours." Fred and George burst out laughing at the image, and Ginny grinned.

"We obviously put those spells on your door yesterday when you asked us to help teach Ron to knock," they said together.

"Thank you." George and Fred smiled, and they all headed downstairs together. Ron was impatiently waiting for them, his colours now a new variety, while the rest of the family were calmly sitting around the living room. Bill and Fleur entered not long after them and both tactfully ignored Ron's multicolored appearance.

They spent the morning in high spirits, enjoying their gifts and relaxing. Ron seemed to have given up trying to get rid of his multicolored appearance, and now appeared to see it as a good joke. That hadn't stopped their mum from scolding Ginny for having jinxes on her door, as well as yelling at George and Fred for helping her. The twins didn't care though, since they were both happy that Ginny seemed to be following in their footsteps. Eventually, Fleur had stopped her mum by telling her that it was a good lesson for Ron to learn, and that it was all just in good fun. Ginny had grinned at Fleur when her mum had conceded that Fleur had a good point.

At lunch time the group all flooed over to Potter Manor one by one and were greeted by Sirius and Remus. They were led to the dining room where Mimi and Atta had prepared a small lunch for them, since dinner was going to be quite large. After lunch, they headed into the living room and simply sat around talking. They exchanged gifts with Remus and Sirius and the Marauders complimented Fred, George, and Ginny on Ron's appearance.

Ginny could see Fred and George getting slightly restless just sitting around, since they much preferred always having something to do. She had an idea and glanced towards Ron and Hermione, who seemed to be getting slightly bored as well.

"Do you mind if we go and do our own thing? Fergo can get us for dinner if we're not back by then," Ginny said, standing up.

"What are you thinking of doing?" her mum asked. Ginny shrugged.

"Just going up to the third floor." Sirius seemed to understand what she was getting at and his eyes lit up.

"Go ahead," he said with a grin.

"Thanks Siri. Are you coming?" Hermione and Ron nodded and stood up when she looked towards them.

"Fred? George?" she asked. George raised an eyebrow and she smirked in response.

"Why not," Fred replied, standing as well.

"Nothing better to do," George agreed, getting to his feet.

"Have fun," Remus called as the group of five left the room.

"So, what are we doing?" Fred asked as Ginny led them through the manor. Ron and Hermione were close behind, but she knew the manor better, having been there three times a week over the holidays in comparison to their once a week. Plus, Harry had lived there, and he was in her head.

"You'll see," she replied with a small smile.


	73. Dueling

Ginny stopped outside the dueling room, causing Ron and Hermione to break out in grins.

"What are you planning?" George asked.

"Well, you looked bored. And well, we've been learning to duel, and this room happens to be a dueling room. So, I thought you might like to have a few friendly duels," she said, pushing the door open as she spoke. Fred and George exchanged exited glances before grinning.

"You're on." They all entered the room, each of them bringing their wands into their hands.

"Who's first?" Ron asked eagerly.

"You can go first if you want Ron. Who do you want to go with?" Ron was quiet for a moment before making a decision.

"Well, I'm actually excited to see Fred and George duel first. But I'll go after them. I'd say I'd go against Hermione, but I always go against her when we do one on one. Could we do Hermione and me against you Ginny?" he asked.

"Is that fair?" George asked. Ginny grinned.

"It sounds great. Fred, George, you're up. We'll be behind the protection wards against that wall." Fred and George stepped into the middle of the room, facing each other, while Ron, Hermione, and Ginny headed into the protected area of the room, which was against the wall that the door was on. Once George and Fred bowed to each other, Hermione counted down.

"Three, two, one, go." Fred and George burst into motion. Their spell fire alternated between silent and verbal as they dueled.

They were very evenly matched, and since they knew each other so well, neither of them was really gaining any ground. While half of their spells were defensive and offensive spells, the other half were pranks and other distractions, designed to throw their opponent off; which didn't work very well since they both used the same tactic so were expecting it. Their spells caused lots of loud bangs, which were mainly small explosions, and bright bursts of light. They dueled for about 10 minutes before Fred got the upper hand, managing to disarm George.

They both crouched down slightly, panting. Both of them were covered in small injuries, small cuts caused by the debris from the explosions, since neither of them had really been aiming to injure. However, their appearances were very difference from when they started since most of the spells that they had been hit by were the prank and distraction spells.

Fred passed George back his wand and they both set about reversing their appearances to what they were meant to be. Neither of them seemed too bothered about cleaning or healing the small scrapes on their bodies. Once they were done fixing themselves up, they headed towards the warded area that the others had been observing from.   
"Very nice," Hermione said once the twins were close enough.

"We thank you," they said with a bow.

"Our turn," Ginny said, happily crossing the ward line. Fred and George crossed into the protected area, while Hermione and Ron left it.

"Are you sure about two on one?" Fred asked, concerned about how his sister was going to go, especially against two people who were older than her.

"Oh yeah, it'll be fun," Ginny assured them.

"If you're sure," George replied slowly. Ginny grinned.

"We are," Hermione replied.

"Yeah, you haven't seen Ginny duel yet," Ron agreed. Hermione and Ron bowed to her, which she returned, before standing next to each other and falling into their dueling stances.

Ron faced forward, his left foot slightly further back than his right so that he could easily pivot. His right arm was hovering between chest and waist height, wand in hand, ready to attack straight away. Hermione stood on an angle, facing partially sideways, her right side almost fully in front of her left. Her stance made her a smaller target, as well as preparing her to dodge easily, since she was slower at attacking at the start. Her wand arm was at the ready in front of her, her left arm hovering by her side and slightly behind her to aid in her balance.

Ginny stood opposite them, easily falling into her dueling stance, which was nearly second nature to her now, she practiced it so much. Her left leg was planted further in front than her right, giving her a stable support. Her left arm was in front of her, bent slightly at the elbow so that her hand was directly where her heart was, wand in hand and pointing in front of her. Her right arm was bent up at the elbow, hand situated at head height, with Harry's wand still in its holster. She had tried various other stances during her training with Remus and Sirius, but always ended up going back to her original one, since it gave her the quickest reaction to defend and attack, as well as being the easiest stance to adapt when Harry joined in.

 **I'll start on my own and let you know when to come in with aid or full help. I want to keep the double a secret for as long as possible,** she said. She may have told the twins about her and Harry having a soul bond and the fact that she had gained the titles from him, but that didn't mean that she had told them that he was still technically alive and in her head.

**Ok. Normal signals?**

**Of course.** They had developed signals pretty early on in their training that they always used during duels. They could talk while dueling, but the signals made switching tactics much easier, especially in the heat of a battle. Plus, Harry was always at the front of her mind while dueling or battling, meaning he could jump in at a moment's notice. If Ginny dropped Harry's wand into her hand, he would immediately go on the offensive, while a Bat-Bogey curse called for Harry to go defensive. Calling for Harry to start with aid was a simple shout of aid or now to him, which were both easy and quick communications.

Ginny gave a short nod to the twins before focusing her full attention on her two opponents in front of her, only allowed a small amount of concentration to be on the twins so she would hear their signal to start.

"Three, two, one, go," Fred called. Ginny immediately fired off multiple stunners before twisting and moving far from her starting position. Hermione had thrown up shields as soon as Fred had said go, managing to block the stunners sent at them, while Ron had opened with his own set of stunners, which had been way off target since Ginny had moved long before the spells reached her. Ron continued to send stunners at her, throwing in some freezing jinxes and binding spells as well, while Hermione focused on their defense.

Ginny continued dodging the spells sent at her while continuing to send her own spells back. However, she had an advantage over Ron, since she could cast basically all her spells silently, while he was still learning to, meaning he had no clue what spells she was sending at him. Her spells of choice were much simpler than during her training sessions, since they weren't dummies and she actually had to worry about how much she harmed them; she didn't think her mum would be too impressed if she broke any bones, hers or theirs.

She started sending all her spells at Hermione, wanting to get rid of their defense. She sent small explosions at the ground around Hermione, as well as a Bombarda at the wall behind her. Stunners, binders, freezers, and a few low-powered cutters were sent at Hermione. She managed to dodge some of them, her shields having to keep being reinforced as they continually broke under the heavy spell fire, while she was hit by some of the low-powered cutters. Ginny also sent a few bursts of light that looked like spells at Ron, making it so he was focused on dodging the spells heading at him rather than helping Hermione.

Ron seemed to catch on to what she was doing, after one of the jets of light hit him in the arm and did nothing. Realizing that nothing she was occasionally sending at him was harmful, he started attacking more forcefully, pulling Ginny's concentration back onto two opponents instead of one. She let up slightly on her constant attack on Hermione, trying to come up with something while focusing on still attacking and also not getting hit by everything Ron was sending at her.

 **Aid?** Harry asked quickly, clearly seeing that she was starting to fall onto the back foot.

 **Now,** Ginny agreed. Double the amount of spells started raining from her wand as Harry and her took it in turns casting. As soon as she finished her spell, Harry was going, meaning the spells were basically chaining together; they practiced that together so much that she barely had to do the wand movements for the spells anymore, especially when chaining with Harry.

Ron and Hermione were pushed back slightly under the fast onslaught of spells heading towards them, allowing Ginny to catch her breath slightly as she didn't need to worry about dodging. Seemingly realizing that she wasn't going to stop the fast-paced attack any time soon, Ron and Hermione switched tactics. Hermione moved to stand in front of Ron, setting up multiple powerful shields, while Ron stood behind her. He was protected by Hermione and her shields and deflections, meaning he was able to focus on attacking her again.

As the barrage of spells that Ginny and Harry were sending started to overpower Hermione's combination of shields, Ginny heard Ron say something to Hermione. However, the sound of the spells hitting the walls, floor, and shields made it so she couldn't hear what he said. Hermione heard it though, and they abruptly switched positions. Ron threw up multiple shields while Hermione crouched behind him.

 **What are they doing?** Harry asked in between firing spells. Ginny didn't get a chance to answer since a one-way shielding ward erupted from the area where Hermione was crouched. A thin screen of billowing purple smoke that was collecting in the air between them was obscuring the view of the slightly. The fact that it was still transparent though, told her that, even though it would stop her spells, but that both Ron and Hermione would be able to shoot through it.

 **Never mind,** Harry amended. Ron stepped back slightly, letting up on his shields now that they had a stronger shield between them; wards were much stronger and harder to break. With a good defense between them, both Hermione and Ron were able to move onto the offensive again. Ginny and Harry were forced to drop back from their onslaught, focusing more on the defense, while trying to take down the ward.

Ginny sighed slightly, knowing she had no chance against both of them with the ward between them. Not on her own, at least. She continued blocking and deflecting the spells being sent at her and flicked her right wrist, allowing Harry's wand to come to her hand. Harry immediately stepped forward a bit more, taking control of their right arm and his wand.

With both of them working with their own wands, they were able to gain a bit more ground. Ginny continued working on dodging, blocking, and defending, doing her best to avoid being hit. Harry, meanwhile, focused on the offensive, working to try and take down the ward. The four dueling all completely ignored the reactions when Harry had actively joined the duel with his own wand, completely focusing on the duel.

Harry's first tactic to take down the ward was to try and overpower it, hoping that a large number of spells would cause it to break. When that didn't work, he switched to Parsel spells. From what they had discovered, both through experimentation and Slytherin's works, Parsel spells had more power to them, since Parseltongue was closer to magic as a magical language, making them much more difficult to defend against unless you were a Parselmouth. That also meant Parsel spells would overpower normal spells with more ease.

The switch to Parsel spells to take down the ward worked, and both Harry and Ginny watched as the thin layer of purple smoke started to dispel, before being banished completely as the ward broke. Neither Hermione nor Ron noticed that the ward protecting them had broken, meaning that neither of them were expecting it when Harry's spells started getting close to them, or when a few of them actually hit.

The abrupt change pushed Ron and Hermione onto the back foot, and Hermione went down to a stunner as Ginny joined Harry on the offensive. Ginny summoned Hermione's wand, overpowering the spell so that Hermione's wand flew past Ginny and dropped to the ground a way behind them, before sending a freezing and binding spell at her for good measure, causing her to be unconscious, frozen in place, and bound in ropes; she was completely taken out of the duel. With only one opponent left, Ginny and Harry picked up the pace again, making Ron struggle to defend himself and dodge the onslaught, giving him no chance to fight back.

Ginny sent a wave of water at the floor and froze it. At the same time, Harry sent a blasting spell a few feet in front of where Ron was standing. The blast of the floor and ice shattering in front of him, plus the air blast from the impact, caused Ron to stumble backwards, slipping on the ice underneath him. As he fell, Ginny managed to hit him with a disarmer and Harry summoned his wand, overpowering the spell like Ginny had done with Hermione's wand, letting it drop to the ground some way behind them.

Ron sat up, groaning slightly and rubbed his head where it had impacted with the floor. Harry stepped back again, giving Ginny back control of their right arm. She sheathed Harry's wand before picking up Ron and Hermione's from behind her and tossing Ron back his wand. They both moved towards Hermione, Ginny untying her while Ron unfroze her and woke her up. Hermione groaned as she sat up slowly. Ginny grinned slightly and passed Hermione back her wand.

"Good duel," Ron said.

"And you guys still flatten us," Hermione added.

"What was that?" Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all turned to face the door, where the adults now were.


	74. Discovery

Sirius, Remus, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie were all talking in the living room. Bill and Charlie were in a discussion about wards and the benefits of rune based against spell based, and if they were better than wards tied into a ward stone, while Fleur was listening and giving her own inputs now and then. Sirius was talking with Arthur about what the Ministry was doing to protect the community. Remus and Molly were discussing the safety of Hogwarts and the new security measures. Everything was peaceful in the room until they heard a loud bang from above them, causing everyone to jump and look up.

"What was that?" Arthur asked, startled.

"It doesn't sound like anything to worry about. Fred and George probably blew something up," Sirius said with a shrug. He knew that the teens had been heading up to the dueling room and would place a bet that Ginny and Harry had started their duel; those two always used exploding and blasting spells on the floor and walls to create distractions.

"Are you sure?" Molly asked, expression full of concern. Remus and Sirius both nodded, Remus having come to the same conclusion as Sirius had. Everyone had just gone back to their conversations when a series of bangs and clashes were heard.

"What was that?" Molly asked.

"That definitely wasn't just explosions," Charlie agreed.

"I'm really sure it isn't anything to worry about," Remus said, trying to calm the worrying parents. He could faintly hear the sounds of spells colliding against walls and shields, as well as two different voices, that he recognized as Hermione and Ron, shouting spells. They were obviously having a two on one, since he knew that neither Ron or Hermione used many exploding spells while Ginny and Harry did, and had clearly forgotten to activate the silencing spells on the room. His reassurance didn't seem to help though, since bangs could still be heard.

"Should we go check on them?" Bill asked, his concern growing.

"Yes. We have to make sure they're alright," Molly said. Sirius and Remus tried to talk her out of it, but there was no stopping the concerned parents. They led the group through the manor and up to the dueling room.

"How do you know where they are?" Molly asked, well, demanded.

"Ginny asked to head up to the third floor. There are only three rooms on the third floor, and only one of them would be where explosions are coming from. Well, two of them, but only really one when there are multiple people," Sirius explained.

"Where are we?" Arthur asked as they reached the dueling room.

"This is the dueling room," Remus answered, pushing the door open. Everyone stepped in one by one, completely unnoticed by the three duelers. Sirius closed the door behind him and turned just in time to see Hermione's ward pulse with power and activate. He hastily flicked a silencing charm around the group, excluding Fred and George, seeing that Molly was bursting to say something but not wanting her to disrupt the duel; he loved watching Harry and Ginny work together and didn't want her to get them distracted or cause them to stop.

"What are they doing?" Molly asked, a little hysterical.

"They're dueling," Remus answered calmly, not turning away from the duel; he was carefully mentally noting the different techniques that all of them were using.

"But why is Ginny on her own? She's going to be hurt."

"Ginny will be fine," Sirius said, trying his best to calm Molly down, but knowing that it wouldn't work.

"But it's two against one. And they're older than her," Bill said, clearly getting worried as well.

"And Ginny will be fine. She's powerful and this isn't the first time they've done this. Just watch," Sirius said. He turned Molly and Bill away from him so they could watch the duel that the others had been watching since they entered the room. He turned all the attention back to the duel at just the right time as, as soon as he faced the duel, he saw Ginny and Harry switch to double.

"What the hell," Charlie exclaimed, clearly forgetting that his mum was in the room. However, Molly seemed to be too worried about what was going to happen with the duel and didn't even reprimand his language, or question how Sirius knew it wasn't the first time that that type of duel had been fought.

"Where did that second wand come from?" Bill asked. "And how is she fighting with both of them?"

"We'll explain later," Remus said quickly, not wanting to draw any attention away from the duel. Everyone watched the rest of the duel in silence, all apart from Remus and Sirius seemingly stunned by the abilities displayed by the duel. Especially Ginny's abilities, as she was dueling with two wands and completely non-verbally. Sirius had taken the silencing spell down once it had become apparent that no one was going to say anything, meaning that the few gasps of shock or concern could be heard by the duelers. However, they all seemed to be so focused on the duel that none of them heard; that, or they just thought it was George or Fred.

Sirius nodded approvingly at how efficiently they had taken Hermione out of the duel. Remus then grinned at the ice move they used to take Ron out; it was a move he had used the last time he and Sirius had won against them, which was something they hadn't done for ages now, hence putting them against the dummies while he and Sirius dueled Ron and Hermione. The group continued to watch in silence as Hermione was brought around, most of them too shocked by the seemingly abrupt ending to say anything.

"Good duel," Ron said.

"And you guys still flatten us," Hermione added.

"What was that?" Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all turned to face them, shock evident on all their faces.

"When did you get here?" Ron demanded, still rubbing the back of his head. Remus and Sirius both quickly scanned them all, noting their various injuries, including many cuts on all of them.

"Heal yourselves first," Remus said sternly and none of the teens dared argue; all of them knew that one reason they had been allowed to come up and duel without supervision was because they all knew how to heal themselves afterwards. They all started waving their wands over themselves, healing the cuts around their bodies with practiced ease; this seemed to further surprise those who didn't attend their lessons. Ginny was the first to move, heading straight towards the potions cabinet on the other side of the room. She grabbed a bunch of potions, levitating four over to Ron and Hermione while taking the other two herself.

Sirius stepped over the ward line and headed towards the potions cabinet himself, knowing that there was another potion that Ron was going to need to help with his head; he had hit it quite hard when he went down and would have a killer headache at least. He grabbed the grey potion and headed over to Ron, holding it out. Ron took it without question and taking it with ease; all of them knew better than to question Remus or Sirius when it came to potions or salves after duels.

"What was that one for?" Ron asked after he had drained the bottle.

"To help with your head."

"Ah, ok. That explains why the headache is starting to disappear."

"Are you all healed now?" Remus asked, stepping over the ward line as well to check. All the teens gave affirmative answers.

"That's all well and good but no one answered the question," Molly said, snapping out of her shock.

"What was that?" Bill and Charlie asked again when it became evident that no one was going to say anything.

"That was a duel," Ginny said with a smirk.

"No one answered my question either? How long were you there?" Ron asked again.

"Since Hermione put up the ward," Sirius said easily. "And that was a nice defense tactic."

"How did you cast spells so quickly Ginny?" Fred asked.

"Ignore that, how long have you been able to cast non-verbally?" George asked. Ginny grinned.

"A while now," she said with a shrug.

"And the spell chaining?" Bill asked, repeating Fred's question.

"Practice."

"How about we head back to the living room if we are going to continue this line of questioning?" Remus suggested. He had a feeling that the secret about what happened during their training sessions would come out from this line of questioning and at least wanted to be comfortable.

A few of the others sighed or huffed, but no one protested, so the whole group headed back down to the living room for a round of questioning. A round of questioning that would probably be a bit uncomfortable and reveal some things that had been kept secret for a reason, judging on what had been discovered by the duel. 


	75. Secrets Out

**This is going to be fun** , Ginny said sarcastically.

**Oh yeah. How much do you reckon they'll find out?**

**At least about what we do in the lessons. Which mum won't be happy about,** Ginny sighed out loud.

**What about this?** Harry asked.

**They'll probably ask about the second wand. So probably. Which I hate.** She sighed again, this time loud enough that Ron and Hermione, who were walking next to her while they all walked behind the others, heard her.

"You ok?" Ron asked, nudging her with his shoulder slightly.

"Not looking forward to this. I didn't tell mum what we do in lessons for a reason. Plus, they'll probably find out about Harry," she said.

"It'll be fine," Hermione said. Ginny glanced over at her and smiled, thankful that she was trying to reassure her, even if it wasn't working very well.

They reached the living room sooner than Ginny liked. She sat on one of the armchairs near the door, meaning she could make a quick escape if her mum looked like she was going to blow up upon learning any of the information. Everyone else sat down in the same chairs they had occupied earlier.

"How long have you been able to silent cast Ginny?" her dad asked.

"I already answered that. A while now."

"Ginny." She sighed at the tone that her mum had used.

"I've been able to cast non-verbally for ages. Since third week of last year."

"And how could you cast so fast?" Fred asked again.

"I've already answered this," she said with a small sigh. She was pinned with hard looks from multiple people in her family.

**I'm not getting out of this, am I?** she asked.

**Unfortunately, no.**

**Damn.**

"The ability to cast the spells so quickly, or cast spell chains, is through practice. It's one of the things I've been doing in my lessons with Remus and Sirius."

"What else have you been doing in those lessons?" her mum asked.

"Lots of things," Ginny replied evasively.

"Sirius and Remus seemed pretty confident in your duelling ability," her dad said slowly. She shrugged.

"Sirius, you said that this wasn't the first time that they had done a two on one duel," Charlie said suddenly.

"Because it wasn't," she said wearily, rather than letting Sirius reply.

"What do you mean by that?" her mum asked.

"It's something we do in our lessons," she said.

"Lessons?" Bill asked.

"The lessons with Remus started when I first silently cast when he told me and Luna to do that as an extension task when we both got the shield charm really quickly. He taught me lots of things. Advanced spells, spells we don't learn in school that are useful, silent casting. After Christmas that year we started duelling as well. Hermione and Ron were interested in what we were doing and came to watch one day and asked to join in. We've duelled in lots of different pairings, including Ron and Hermione against me."

"When did Sirius start teaching you too?" her mum asked.

"Around when Hermione and Ron joined us," she answered. No reason to tell her that they had started with the lessons for different reasons; let her think that he had started teaching to help keep a more one on one basis.

"And the healing spells?"

"One of the first things we were taught. They come in handy, aren't really taught at school, and were definitely vital once we started duelling."

"Where did you learn the ward that you used Hermione?" Bill asked, turning the attention off Ginny. Something that she was thankful for. Plus, she was glad that it was everyone finding out, not just her mum; more people to help stop her mum from blowing up.

"Something that Sirius showed us in one of our lessons." Unfortunately for Ginny, Hermione's questioning stopped there as the attention was drawn back to her.

"What was with the second wand?" Charlie asked curiously.

**And so, it begins** , Harry declared dramatically.

**Shut it, you** , Ginny growled playfully.

"What, this?" she asked innocently, drawing Harry's wand.

"Yeah, that wand," Charlie agreed.

"How did you use two?" Bill asked.

"Practice," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Hang on," George said leaning closer, trying to get a better look at the wand.

"I recognise that wand," Fred said, also leaning closer.

"So do I Gred."

"But where from?" They both continued looking at the wand, leaning even closer to see the small amount of detailing around the handle.

"Harry," Fred and George said together.

"What?" her dad asked in confusion.

"They're right. This is Harry's wand," Ginny confirmed.

"But why do you have it? And how do you use it?"

"Cedric gave it to me at his funeral. And it recognises me just like my own wand does."

"That does make sense," Fleur said, smiling at Ginny who returned the smile.

"Does it?" Bill asked his fiancé, confused. Fleur didn't reply and just continued to smile, something that Ginny was appreciative of; it was nice to know that Fleur understood it was their secret, even though she had said that during the Yule ball.

"And how does it recognise you like your own wand does?" her mum asked.

**Do I say it?**

**It's your choice, but I say go for it.**

"It recognises me because Harry and I share magic and a soul." Apparently, no one had any idea how to respond to that as everyone simply sat in silence, those who didn't know clearly trying to understand what she had just said.

"Excuse me?" her mum asked in a demanding voice. She glanced over to those already in the know, gaining encouraging smiles from all of them.

"My magic and Harry's magic merged. And we share a soul," she repeated.

"You share a ... That is so rare," Bill said, looking at her in awe. She had guessed that he would be the first to understand what she was saying, since he worked for goblins.

"I know," she replied simply, a small smile coming to her face as she thought back to when they had first discovered the bond. A look of realisation appeared on Bill's face and he gasped slightly.

"I am so, so sorry," he whispered. Ginny's smile faded slightly, leaving her with a small, sad smile instead, as she instantly realised what he was referring to.

"It was hard, but it's ok now. Things got better." Bill seemed a bit comforted by that, but also hesitant to believe her, which made sense seeing as information about soul bonds were so rare; there was no information anywhere about what happened for them happening in any other case, even if it had.

"What are you guys talking about?" Charlie asked, confused. "What do you mean you share a soul?"

"And how do you know Bill?" her dad added.

"Common knowledge for anyone who works for Gringotts," Bill answered with a shrug.

"What is?" her dad asked.

**Go on, put them out of their misery** , Harry said. Ginny sent him a mental image that her mum would tell her off for using if she had actually done it.

**I hate you,** she added. Harry just laughed, wrapping his magic around her in a hug.

**I'm trying to be mad at you right now and you're not helping.**

**Just tell your parents** , Harry said, instead of replying, although he did wrap his magic more securely around her.

"Harry and I have a soul bond," she said simply. The rarity of soul bonds was emphasised as neither her mum, her dad, or Charlie, the only three who still didn't know about the soul bond, reacted to that statement.

"You had a what?"

"We have a soul bond," she repeated.

"And what exactly is a soul bond?" her mum demanded.

**How do I explain it?** She asked, mind going blank on the best way to describe what a soul bond was, especially as she didn't want her mum to freak out.

**Give me a minute,** Harry said. She felt him retreat in her mind slightly and knew that he was going to try and find one of their memories from when they were still researching what was going on with them, most likely one of his since he had found most of the information in the beginning.

"Well?"

"One second," she said absently, waiting for Harry to find what he was looking for and hoping that he would be quick; she didn't want to push her mum more than she already was.

**Found it, it's what I said in the letter to you when I first found out.**

**That should work well. Can you just say it, rather than me having to repeat what you say**? She asked, cutting him off before he could explain it.

**Sure.** She gave him control of her mouth and her voice, which was one of the weirdest things to share or switch control of, allowing him to speak through her.

"We basically share one extremely powerful soul, split between two bodies. Alone, we are whole and fine, but together we are immensely powerful. The bond will get stronger the closer we get. Apparently, the soul bond is true love in reality. From what I can gather, it's kind of like being two socks from a pair; we belong and go best together, but are perfectly able to be with someone else without suffering." Once he had said his piece, Harry retreated back into their mind, allowing Ginny to take her voice and mouth back.

"What else does a soul bond entail?" her mum asked.

"A lot, actually," Ginny replied with a sigh. "We gained abilities that brought us closer together. We basically had two sets of emotions, meaning we could feel what each other was feeling, as well as gaining the ability to sense roughly where each other was. Like at the World Cup, Harry used it to find me, and during the third task I was able to tell when Harry suddenly left Hogwarts.

"We also developed telepathy with each other, meaning we could communicate silently through our minds. It was the ability to talk telepathically that makes it so easy for me to cast silently; I simply cast the spells as if I'm talking to him through my mind, rather than out loud." She deliberately left out that she had briefly been able to see out of Harry's eyes, since she really didn't want them to know that she had technically watched as he died.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. Once the telepathy developed, it brought our bond to the highest stage it could get. In the eyes of the Old Laws, that meant that our bond had reached a stage that made us as close, or closer, than if we were married. That meant that, according to the Old Laws, we were both emancipated or of age.

"That meant that to the goblins, who still follow the Old Laws, Harry was able to claim his Lordships, meaning he needed an active will. And since I am technically married to Harry, I was able to claim the accompanying Ladyships. And the goblins were able to take the Trace off my wand since I am legally of age. And that means that my name is actually Ginny Potter. Well, there are other titles, like Lady Potter and stuff, but those are just excessive." She deliberately left off all her titles, since she didn't want to tell them that unless she had to.

"You're ... you're married?" her mum asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Only according to the Old Laws though, so in the eyes of the Ministry, who don't follow the Old Laws anymore, I'm not."

"What Ladyships do you have?" Bill asked. Ginny sighed, having hoped to at least keep that a secret, before she held out her hand that the Ladyship rings were on, even though the crests were still hidden.

"I have three. I'm Lady Potter." The Potter crest appeared.

"Lady Peverell." The Peverell crest appeared.

"And Lady Gryffindor." Finally, the Gryffindor crest appeared. Those who didn't know her titles blinked in shock.

"Wow," Charlie murmured, breaking the silence.

"You don't seem surprised by any of that," her dad commented, turning to face Remus and Sirius.

"They already knew about the soul bond. So did Ron and Hermione, as well as Fred and George," Ginny said.

"And why did they find out before us? We are your parents," her mum exclaimed.

"Remus worked it out and I just confirmed it, and I told him that he could tell Sirius. I told Hermione and Ron at school when we were talking about stuff, and Fred and George needed to be told when they heard the Fat Lady refer to me as Lady Gryffindor."

"How did you work it out?" her mum asked, turning on Remus, who looked a little startled by the piercing glare that had suddenly turned on him.

"I saw Ginny's Patronus. Hers is a doe, which perfectly matched Harry's stag. Deer Patronuses are almost always the symbol of love and connection; among the other things they represent and those who are soul-bonded always have a stag and doe Patronus. Plus, she told me what memory she chose for her Patronus."

"And how did you know that about Patronuses?"

"We researched a lot about soul bonds during our last year of school and once we'd left," Sirius replied with a shrug, able to tell that information since they were all technically family; Ginny was family since she was married to Harry and they were her family. "It seemed the only natural thing to do when we found out that Lily and James had one which they discovered after they started dating." Everyone was quiet as they processed all the new information that they had just found out, especially the part about Lily and James having a soul bond.

"Wait a second Ginny," Fred said, causing everyone's attention to switch to him.

"Yeah?" she asked, having no idea what he had picked up on. And by the look that George was giving him, he hadn't picked up on it either, which was weird considering they almost always knew what the other was thinking.

"Just now, you said that you have a soul bond with Harry," Fred said.

**Damn it, I did, didn't I.**

**Yeah, you did** , Harry agreed.

**I wasn't going to tell them that bit.**

**Oh well, too late now.** She sighed slightly but knew that Harry was right.

"Have, not had," George added, picking up on what Fred was saying.

"And you said that it was ok now, that thing got better," Bill said, going back to what she had told him when he had realised that she had lost her bonded.

"Well, yeah. I have a bond with Harry; it's not gone. And it did get better. It got so much better, for everyone involved, in more ways than one," she said, fiddling with her Potter ring.

"What do you mean that it got better for everyone involved?" Charlie asked.

"Well, I'm not dead, am I," Ginny said bluntly. Bill gasped and Fleur brought one hand up to her mouth, both of them clearly understanding what she was getting at, since they both had more knowledge about the subject then the others.

**Harsh** , Harry said.

**But true** , she replied. Harry didn't say anything to that, but she could feel his agreement.

"That is something I had wondered about. It has been a year and a half; it has to be a record," Fleur said. Ginny smiled.

"Well, we had the opposite happen. He found me, rather than me finding him."

"Could you please explain so that those of us who have no idea what youre talking about understand," her mum said. She smiled sheepishly.

"Can you guys explain? You explained it to us," she asked, turning to look at Remus and Sirius. They nodded before Remus started to explain.

"According to information I found, people who have a soul bond normally die within the same year at least, normally within a month or two of each other. In some cases, it even occurs within a few days. That happens because the soul that still survives is trying to find its other half, wanting to stop the pain of losing their bonded. The soul that still survives ends up fleeing to find the soul that died, causing the survivor to die."

"This only happens if the couple had activated their bond before the death occurred though. If Harry had died before he and Ginny got together, then nothing would have happened, since Ginny's soul wouldn't have recognised that it lost its perfect match," Sirius added.

"Harry's soul found mine, instead of mine finding his. That's how I'm able to chain spells so easily and how I can fight with two wands. Harry's helping. He and I take it in turns to cast spells, with his spells finishing right after mine as I start my next one, making the spell chain. And he can take control of parts of my body, well, our body, meaning he and I can both use our own wands," Ginny explained softly.

"So, technically, Harrikins is alive?" George and Fred asked together.

"Technically, yes. He is still alive in me. I can't really explain it anymore, it can get very complicated."

"Did anything else from your bond develop?" Fleur asked. Ginny nodded.

"I gained one of Harry's abilities. I started being able to see traces of magic on his birthday last year. That was before I knew that he was still technically alive, so it was hard."

"When did you realise that he was still alive?"

"When he spoke in my head again. It was around the end of November in my fourth year. The 24th, apparently," she added as Harry reminded her of that small detail. "He still thought it was June."

"Would it be possible to get his body back?" Hermione asked. Ginny blinked before turning to face her, surprised; Hermione had never mentioned anything like that to her before.

"I mean, possibly. But I have a lot going on right now, so I can't really add more independent research in. But it should be possible, even if it is hard."

**I mean, Voldemort managed, and he's evil,** Harry added,

**But he probably used a Dark ritual,** Ginny added.

**With you and Mione working together you'll find something,** Harry said, sending her a smile and wrapping their magic around her again.

"What do you have going on? If it's just OWLs and Quidditch I could draw up a timetable for you, so you have scheduled time to research it. And I'd be happy to help," Hermione offered.

"I have a bit more going on than just that Hermione, but I appreciate the offer," she said, glancing quickly over to Remus and Sirius as she said this. By the understanding looks on their faces, they had understood what she meant.

"I meant to ask. How is that project going?" Remus asked, drawing the attention to himself even as Hermione started muttering plans to herself about research and timetables.

"Pretty good. I managed to start it on time back in late October. I only have two different parts left and I do have a schedule for when they should be finished. The second part should be finished around April, that's the part that needed the extra materials you got for me, and the last part at the start of June," she said. Remus nodded, both of them quickly deciphering what she was saying.

"What project?" her mum asked.

"Just something that I'm working on. It was meant to be a secret, but I needed Remus and Sirius to help me with some of the things I needed for it," she explained. Thankfully, no one was able to question her further about the project because, just as her mum opened her mouth to interrogate her some more, Fergo popped in, letting them know that dinner was ready. And thankfully, that type of conversation wasn't appropriate for the table, and hopefully everyone would forget about it by tomorrow.


	76. Step #2

Before Ginny knew it, it was already April. She had visited the Chamber a couple of time during the school term, to keep exploring and to slowly work her way through all of Slytherin's books. If someone had of told her a year ago that she would be reading as much as she was, she would have hexed them, but these books were much more interesting than any of the school books. And her exploring of the Chamber was fun.

She had been also able to investigate the four doors that led off the staircase up to the rooftop courtyard, which she had wanted to do since she found them but been unable to find time to do so. What she had found was amazing. It seemed that the other founders had been able to access the Chamber, considering where they came out, and since none of the doors needed Parseltongue to open. The again, the doors were disguised where they appeared very well, and you wouldn't notice them if you didn't know they were there.  
The first door was at the same level as the upper dungeons and led into an isolated part of the Slytherin common room. The second door had opened into the Hufflepuff common room, again in an isolated area. The third door was to access a small library in the Ravenclaw tower, which was under the common room, but had stairs leading up to the common room. The final door opened into an area above the dorms in the Gryffindor tower that she hadn't realized existed, since she thought the top dorms were at the top of the tower.

What had surprised her even more was that the common rooms were in various locations around the castle, yet all the doors were in the same vicinity. After discovering that anyone could open the doors if they found them, she had made sure to ward the draw with the blood even more, knowing that people had trusted her to keep the blood safe until she used it. She very much doubted that anyone would find the doors, since they were so well disguised and in places not often visited, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Other than the short periods of time that she had used investigating the doors, she hadn't had much time to explore.

The teachers had been giving them more and more homework in preparation for their exams at the end of the year. The amount of homework she was getting, plus Quidditch practice meant that Ginny had been forced to drop the number of lessons she had with Remus down to only one a week, alternating between Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so that they still had lessons covering everything they had been doing, which she wasn't very happy about. But she was still managing to finish all her homework, Quidditch practice, her lesson with Remus, and attend the DA every Saturday, as well as finding time to hang out with her friends; her, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna could often be found together, having grown even closer after Christmas. She was just glad that she didn't have Prefect duties on top of all of that; she probably wouldn't have been able to cope.

The Easter holidays had just finished, but it hadn't been at all relaxing, not that it ever was. Their homework had increased dramatically for the holidays, and there was almost no time to relax at all. And now that the whole school was back, Katie had upped the training sessions to four times a week, determined that they were going to win their last match. With everything that she was dealing with, Ginny was just surprised, but relieved, that she didn't lose track of the date and miss the date for the second step of the ritual.

It was set for tonight and she was just glad that she didn't have Quidditch practice that night; practice went well into the night and she would have possibly missed the time that she had to start. She had a wide window to carve the runes, having from the moment that the moon came over the horizon until it reached the middle of the sky, which would be between midnight and one in the morning, but she didn't know how long it would take her. Carving runes were much more difficult than drawing or writing them and she always worked slowly so as to not stuff up, so she wanted to have as much time as possible to carve them.

She spent the morning doing any homework that she had gotten during the first week after the holidays since it was a Saturday. She wanted to get it all done that day so she could sleep in the next day, not miss the DA meeting, which had been pushed to Sunday that week, and not have to rush any of the work. Her hand started cramping part way through her third essay and she had to stop and shake her aching hand out to try and relieve some of the tension; she understood that they had OWLs coming up, but did every teacher have to assign such long essays?

 **Do you want me to help? You don't want to have a hand cramp tonight,** Harry said. She took a moment to debate his offer before replying.

**I want to say yes, but no. People will notice if I switch hands, plus your handwriting is different from mine, even in the same body.**

**I'll just have to help with the runes tonight then,** Harry decided. Ginny smiled at his insistence of helping her, shaking her head at the same time, but didn't reply; he wouldn't be able to help with the runes even if he wanted to since he just had no hope with runes, and he had tried. She sometimes hated how boys thought that she would need help, but she found the offer sweet when it came from Harry. She knew that he sometimes felt useless since she was normally in control of their body and appreciated the offer that would have annoyed her if it came from one of her brothers.

She headed down to the Chamber right after dinner, wanting to set up early so that she could utilize her time as much as possible. She hadn't even needed to grab the invisibility cloak, since she could use the door that led straight back to Gryffindor tower and just head down to her dorm that way. She could have used that door to get to the Chamber so that she didn't arouse suspicion about disappearing but didn't see the point in walking all the way up to the top of the tower just to walk back down to below the dungeons unless she was already in the tower.

She entered the Chamber easily; she had picked up some simply commands in Parseltongue after hearing Harry use it so much and her mouth was already used to it. She couldn't understand it or really speak it, but she could open and close the Chamber without Harry's help, which was good because she still wasn't fully comfortable not being in control when in the Chamber. She headed straight over to the office, grabbing the locket from its draw, and slipping it into her pocket. She then opened the draw that the phials of blood were in and pulled the whole draw out; it was easier to just bring the draw than to have to try and carry nine phials of blood without breaking them. 

She carried the draw with her as she headed to the ritual area, where the runes that Slytherin had used were still faintly there. She set the draw down a bit outside the dirt section that the runes would be carved in, placing the locket on the stone next to it. She then headed over to the cabinet that held the carving knives, easily finding the one she had chosen at an earlier time, knowing that it was the one most comfortable for her to use. She also selected one of the thicker ritual brushes, since she would have to paint the blood over the carved runes.

She then flicked her wand to cast a spell that Remus had taught her a few weeks ago. It was an obscure spell but was perfect for what she needed for the ritual, since the whole point of the spell was to mimic what the roof of the Great Hall did, displaying whatever the sky outside looked like. This variation of the spell, however, allowed the display to simply hang in the air, rather than be attached to the roof, which made it easier for her to use in the Chamber, since the roof of the Chamber was so high.

She noticed that the moon was already able to be seen above the horizon, even as the sun was still in the sky. She placed the brush and both her wand and Harry's wand on the ground next to the locket and the draw of blood, since wands and other objects that could focus magic would disrupt a rune circle; any magic at all that was used could change the ritual. She stepped into the carving area, moving towards the top of the already carved circle, where North was. There was a specific order you had to carve the runes in for this specific ritual, and then the blood had to be put on in the same order; North, South, East, West, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West, center; Kuan, Thurs, Naudr, Ar, Ansuz, Berkano, Ehwaz, Gebo, Madr.

She set to carving Kuan at the position directly North. A straight, vertical line was first, followed by another straight line on a diagonal, reaching up from about a third of the way down the vertical line to the same height as the vertical line. She carefully removed the dirt from where it had piled as she carved, not wanting it to get in the way and potentially disrupt the ritual. She then moved to the South point of the circle to carve Thurs. Thurs was like a P, with a vertical line and two diagonal lines on the right, meeting at a point halfway down the vertical line. The vertical line then extended the same distance above and below the diagonal lines. After carving that rune, Ginny again cleared the dirt away from the rune.

Moving East, she began to carve Naudr. A vertical line with diagonal line going from the left to the right crossing the vertical line in the middle. It was similar to Nied but without the curves at either end of the diagonal line. She again carefully removed the dirt before moving to the West point to carve Ar. Ar was similar to Naudr, with a diagonal line crossing the vertical line at the mid-point, but the diagonal line for Ar went from right to left, rather than left to right like Naudr. Once she had removed the dirt, she moved again, heading to the point that marked North-East.

There, she carefully carved Ansuz, a vertical line with two downwards facing diagonal lines splitting off on the right side. The first diagonal line met the vertical line at the very top, while the second met a third of the way down the vertical line. Removing the dirt and headed over to North-West, Ginny started the rune Berkano. Berkano was a B shape, with the diagonals meeting at sharp points. Each point seemed to separate the vertical line into quarters. She once again removed the dirt after carving the rune, being careful to not change or disrupt the rune that she had carved.

At the South-East point she carved Ehwaz, which was almost identical to Ewhaw but with flat lines in place of sharp points where the lines of the M-like shape met. South-West had Ginny carving Gebo, a rune in the shape of an X. She finally moved to the center of the circle to carve the last rune, Madr. Madr was very similar to Mannaz but didn't have the sharp points where each line met, instead having a flat spot where the diagonals met the verticals as the diagonals made an x between two vertical lines.

Once she was finished carving each of the runes, Ginny carefully exited the rune circle, making sure she didn't step on any of the carvings. She placed the knife down, picking up the ritual brush and selecting Mad Eye's phial of blood. She entered the circle again and dipped the brush into the blood before tracing over the newly carved rune at the North point, making sure that the blood soaked into the carving. She exited the circle, putting the cork back in the phial, since it still had a small amount of blood left, before picking up her wand and using it to clean the brush, since she didn't have enough time to use water to wash it and then wait for it to dry.

She entered the circle again, this time with the phial of blood that belonged to Professor McGonagall. She again dipped the brush in the blood before tracing the fresh carving of the rune at the South point. Again, she left the circle, putting the cork in the phial and then cleaning the brush before selecting another phial of blood.

She repeated this again and again until she had traced over all 8 runes on the outside of the circle in a different persons blood. After using Mad Eye's and McGonagall's for North and South, she used Tonks' blood for East and Kingsley's for the West point. Remus' blood was used to trace the rune at the North-East point, while Sirius' was used for the North-West point. She then used Bill's blood for the South-East rune, while Fleur's blood was last, being used to trace the rune in the South-West point.

Finally, she selected one of the phials of her own blood, cleaning the brush again before heading into the rune circle. She dipped the brush into her own blood and carefully traced the rune of Madr in the center of the circle, being careful to completely cover the rune, but not allow any of her blood to go anywhere else. Once she had covered the rune in enough blood, she left the circle again. She placed the brush on a clean spot of stone to properly clean later and put the cork back in the phial that had held her blood.

She then picked up the locket, heading back into the circle for the last time that night. She walked right to the center of the circle, carefully laying the locket on top of the rune that she had just covered in blood. As soon as she released the locket, she left the circle again, glancing at the spell that showed the night sky as she did. The moon was almost at the top of its peak, meaning she had been there a long time, and she would be there for a short while longer to pack up.

She picked up Harry's wand and he started a small flow of water running out of it, allowing her to use her left hand to run the brush under the water to fully clean her blood and any traces of the others' blood off the brush. She would check it again when she came down to remove the locket, to make sure there was no residue left on there that she couldn't see while the brush was wet. She then replaced the phials back into the draw; she would dispose of them later, when she had finished the ritual. She also made sure to put the brush and knife back into the cabinet where she had gotten them from, as well as getting rid of the image of the sky.

She headed back to the study, replacing the draw in the desk and re-warding it so that it was safe and secure. She then headed back to where the ritual spot was, passing it and beginning to climb the stairs. She allowed Harry to take over then, trusting that he would get them back to her dorm and into bed. She retreated into their mind to sleep, energy drained from the ritual; even though it didn't use any active magic, the latent magic had pulled at her energy and magic, making it feel as if she had just finished a particularly hard lesson with Remus and Sirius.

Over the next two weeks, part of Ginny's focus was always on the locket sitting in the rune circle, even as she went about her everyday business; classes, lessons with Remus and Sirius, homework, Quidditch practice, DA sessions, and her free time with her friends. She was anxious for the 30th to come so that she could finish the second step of the ritual. Once that step was done, there was only one left, on June 5th; she was almost there.

Finally, the day came that she could bring the locket out of the rune circle. It was a Sunday, meaning she would be exhausted for classes the next day, but getting a step closer to getting rid of Voldemort for good was worth it. She went up to bed early that night, at nine, setting an alarm to wake her up at half past one, since she knew that the moon started to set early in the morning. She would at least get four to four and a half hours of sleep before she had to get up, meaning she would, hopefully, not fall asleep in classes the next day.

At one-thirty her wand began to vibrate under her pillow, successfully waking her up. She put both wand holsters on, both wands securely inside, before grabbing the jumper her mum had given her for Christmas, as well as a thick cloak; it would be cold down in the Chamber at this hour, she knew that from experience, having regretted not being more warmly dressed when she started the second step.

She left her dorm and began to climb up the stairs, passing the doors of the dorms that were above her. She continued up until she reached the large room at the top of the tower, that was very similar to the common room below the dorms. She headed straight for where she knew the door was, between the two sets of stairs leading down. It took her a few minutes to find the handle, since it was very well hidden, designed to look like an intricate design on the wall. Once she found it, she pushed the door open and started down the stairs that led to the Chamber. It took a while, especially in her still half-asleep state, but she made it down to the Chamber without hurting herself. Harry had offered to do this part of the step, but she had declined, wanting to be present for the whole ritual; she wanted to make sure everything went as it was meant to. She trusted that Harry wouldn't do anything wrong, but she still wanted to make sure.

Once in the Chamber and at the ritual spot, she cast the spell to show the sky outside again. The moon was sitting in the middle of the sky, not really showing any sign that it was going to start its descent soon. Knowing that she was going to be waiting a while, Ginny headed over to the cabinet so that she could check that there was no blood left on the ritual brush that she had used. As she examined the brush, finding no traces of blood left behind, she decided to check the brush that she had used for the first step, since she hadn't checked it again after using it; plus, it would give her something to do while she waited.

After she checked over both brushes, she glanced at the illusion of the night sky and almost cheered when she noticed that the moon was starting to set. She took both wands out of the holsters, placing them on the ground in a spot where she knew they wouldn't roll away, since she couldn't take them in to the rune circle as it was still active. She stepped in and quickly made her way to the locket. Another glance at the sky showed that the moon had set enough for it to definitely be descending, meaning she could pick the locket up.

She grabbed the locket by the chain and left the rune circle. She picked up both wands as she passed them, holding them both in one hand since the other hand was busy holding the locket. She headed straight to the study, placing the locket back in its draw. With a hand now free, she was able to put Harry's wand back in its holster before using her own to ward the draw that the locket was in. Once she was happy that the locket wasn't going anywhere, she grabbed the draw with the phials of blood and left the study, heading back to the ritual spot so she could clean up the blood and remnants of blood; she had decided to get rid of all the blood that belonged to anyone except her at the same time, so she didn't forget, as well as it being easier to have just one big fire rather than trying to make a fire with just the phials of blood.

She placed the draw down before searching for something to use to dig up the blood runes. She grabbed one of the spades at the end of the rack of tools and weapons. She headed over to the rune circle and began to dig up the runes. Every shovel that she got of dirt was piled together on the stones a little way away from the dirt patch, but on the opposite side of the dirt patch to the cabinet; she didn't want to accidentally have the cabinet catch fire. She was glad that the dirt was soft, since it made it easier to remove the dirt, and it had made it easier to carve the runes two weeks ago.

Once all the dirt was piled together, she headed back to the where she had left the draw. She took multiple trips between the draw and the dirt pile, throwing the phials on top of the dirt. She also unstopped each phial before adding it to the pile, making it easier for the flames and heat to reach the blood that was left inside the phials; the blood would be burnt away while the phials would be left intact and purified, while most of the dirt would become purified, with a small amount being burnt away with the blood. Once she had added all the phials to the pile, there was only two phials of her blood left in the draw, while ten phials were in the pile.

Harry stepped forward slightly when she had finished putting everything that needed to be burnt in a pile, taking control of their right arm. As one, they both un-holstered their wands and cast fire spells, setting the pile of dirt, blood, and phials on fire. They watched as it burnt, clearing the air when the smoke started to thicken. They simply watched as the fire ate away at the blood that covered the dirt and phials. Eventually, the fire died down, leaving behind a slightly smaller pile of dirt, with ten clean phials on top, even though the corks had burnt away.

Ginny gathered up the phials, placing them back in their spots in the draw with the two full phials of blood. She then grabbed the shovel again and started shifting the dirt back into the dirt patch, trying to make sure that there wasn't one large heap of dirt so that it would be ready for use if it were needed again. Once she had moved the dirt back into its original place, she grabbed the draw, taking it back into the study and warding it again; even though it was only her blood in there now, she still wanted to keep it safe.   
Once she was done, she made her way back to the ritual area and started up the staircase, hoping to make it back to her dorm with enough time to go back to sleep. At least she was one step closer to bringing down Voldemort.


	77. Getting Closer

Their next session with Remus and Sirius was that Friday and they were joined by Ron and Hermione, as they were during all Friday sessions, meaning she had to wait almost a whole week before she was able to tell them that she had used the blood that they had collected for her; she hadn't wanted to tell Remus after normal classes since she didn't want anyone who didn't know about her extracurricular activity to hear them; she had managed to keep what she was doing a secret from her mum with much difficulty and didn't want to ruin that by having someone else overhear and go blabbing.

They had just finished a four on one (two) full out fight, meaning that more dangerous spells were allowed; still nothing fatal, but bones could be broken, and fire and cutting spells were used more often; Sirius had managed to get potions to heal bones if the breaks were bad and they had all learnt how to heal small breaks a while ago. Ginny and Harry had emerged victorious in the battle, having managed to take the others out one by one, even though they did get injured in the process.

Their left shoulder had dislocated during the battle, but they had managed to brace it and keep going, with aid of a numbing spell, even though it took Ginny's wand arm out; she had been able to perform a few small defensive spells, but nothing that involved wand movement or aim. They were also pretty cut up and had a few burns on their arms, mainly their left since they hadn't been able to move it towards the end. The others weren't without injury either, but no one had any broken bones, the dislocation being the worse injury of the night, and they were all having to patch themselves up; a lot of potions were used to heal the group.

Ginny took a seat as Harry took control of the situation to heal the wounds covering their body, since he had better control and aim with their right arm than Ginny did, mainly because he was right-handed while she was left-handed. He stopped all the blood flowing and healed the cuts littering their body, accepting the blood replenisher when Remus came over with it, along with the other healing potions that they took without protest; Remus had been the least injured, having been taken out first, so was first to be fully healed. Remus helped heal some of the burns, covering the burns along their arms with burn paste. Ginny gasped, sucking air in sharply as the numbing charm on her shoulder wore off, flooding her with the pain of her dislocated shoulder again.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, hearing the gasp.

"Shoulder," she got out, focusing on her breathing to try and breath through the pain, while Harry retreated back into their mind so that he could check for any other injuries that the pain of the dislocation was hiding. Remus looked her shoulder over before calling for Sirius.

"I need help fixing her shoulder. I can't do dislocations," Remus told Sirius.

"One second. Just helping Hermione with her deeper cuts," Sirius replied. Once he had finished helping Hermione he came over, moving around to her left side so he could access her shoulder. Remus left Sirius to help her, heading over to check if Ron or Hermione needed any more help. Ginny continued to breathe through the pain as Sirius pushed their shoulder back into its socket.

"Thanks," she said once the pain disappeared.

"I used to help Remus when he dislocated his joints after full moons, so I've lots of practice," Sirius replied with a shrug.

 **All healed,** Harry confirmed.

 **Thank you,** she replied, before accepting another potion that Sirius offered her, to help make sure that her shoulder wouldn't pop back out of place from a small knock during the night, until their shoulder fully stabilized again.

"You guys are getting much better. That was the quickest time you've taken to get rid of the first opponent," Sirius said with a smile.

"Ron and Hermione are getting better too. They've been holding their own for a lot longer than when we first started last year," Ginny agreed.

"How's your shoulder now?" Sirius asked. Ginny rolled her shoulder slightly before nodding when she didn't feel any pain.

"Much better. It was fine during the battle, but the numbing charm that Harry used wore off."

"I'm impressed that you managed to keep going. I've seen members of the Order and many Aurors who are taken out by a dislocation or broken bone," Sirius said. Ginny smiled.

"How's your project coming? You mentioned something about the second step being done during April?" Remus asked, appearing next to Sirius; Ron and Hermione appearing to be fully healed and leaving. Ginny blinked and tilted her head slightly, trying to remember when she had mentioned that.

 **He asked over the holidays,** Harry reminded her.

 **That's right. After mum found out about the lessons and the bond and basically everything else,** Ginny remembered.

**There was a lot going on that day, it's not surprising that you had forgotten that part.**

"Yeah, I finished the second step last Sunday. I hadn't had the chance to tell you yet, but I was planning on doing it today anyway. I promised that I'd let you know when I'd finished with the blood you got for me," she said.

"You used the blood? Did you get rid of it correctly?" Remus asked.

"I did use it. I actually used it on the 15th, but I couldn't get rid of it until last Sunday. Anyway, yeah, I did get rid of it correctly. It's all burnt away, and the phials that were used were completely sterilized in the fire. What do you take me for, thinking I wouldn't get rid of it right," she said, adding the last part teasingly.   
"Just making sure," Remus said with a grin.

"When's the third step, did you say?" Sirius asked.

"Start of June," she replied.

"It won't interfere with your OWLs?" Remus asked.

"It won't. OWLs aren't until the end of June, and it will only take one night, so I won't miss much study time," she assured the two men in front of her.

"Good. You should probably head back to your dorm now, it's almost curfew," Sirius said. Ginny nodded, saying goodnight, and leaving the room.   
-  
That Saturday found Sirius and Remus once again at Grimmauld Place for an Order meeting, just like they did every week; all meetings were on Saturdays now, since the teachers couldn't get away on Fridays anymore. Neither of them understood the need to have weekly meetings, since there was barely any new information week to week that was urgent enough that it couldn't wait. It would make more sense to have a meeting every fortnight, rather than every week.

Dumbledore was the first to leave, as was usual since he had many duties that he had to get back to. Remus and Minerva would normally follow him, and Snape when he came, since they had to get back to the school, but this time Remus got Minerva to wait for a moment.

"What is this about Remus? You know we can't be away from the school for too long," Minerva said.

"We wanted to let you know about the progress our friend made with the ritual they're doing," Remus replied.

"We were informed yesterday that our friend had used the blood that was willingly given last Sunday," Sirius continued.

"They disposed of it correctly?" Mad Eye growled.

"Of course. They made a fire out of the dirt that the blood touched and the phials that the blood was in," Remus told the group.

"This friend of yours is one step closer to finishing this ritual?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes. They said that the ritual will be finished at the start of June," Sirius agreed.

"Who are you talking about? What ritual?" Molly asked. Remus and Sirius exchanged quick glances before Remus replied.

"Our friend, the one who suggested the different interpretation of the prophecy last August. They found a ritual that would weaken a Dark Lord and is currently in the process of completing it. It is a very complex ritual from what I've been told, since they aren't willing to say much other than its purpose, But I know it's three different steps and takes almost a year to complete. The second step required blood willingly given from eight different people and they asked Sirius and I to help them get it, since they weren't in a position to ask without people asking awkward questions."

"Thank you for letting us know Remus, Sirius," Minerva said. "But I must be getting back to the school." Remus nodded, standing as well.

"Yes, I need be getting back as well," he agreed. Everyone else agreed, one by one leaving Headquarters, via floo or the front door.


	78. Step #3

The last few months leading up to June after the second step passed extremely quickly in Ginny's opinion. Between Quidditch practice and the Quidditch final, which Gryffindor had won, classes and homework as well as extra studying, lessons with Sirius and Remus and the DA sessions, and the occasional research that she was doing with Hermione to try and find a way to get Harry his body back, time had flown. So far, neither Hermione nor Ginny had found a way to get Harry his body back, or anything even relatively close, but their research was very sporadic, since it was hard for both of them to find time around everything else, even with the schedules that Hermione had made.

Without Quidditch to occupy their thoughts, the teachers had started to assign even more homework; Ginny would be extremely happy once her OWLs were over so that she could have a break. But even then, she wouldn't have much time to relax, since she would then have the locations of all of Voldemort's horcruxes and what they were, meaning she could track them down and destroy them. The topic of hunting the horcruxes had caused a few small arguments between her and Harry; Harry was determined to convince her to tell an adult about them so that she could have help, while Ginny was adamant that she could do it on her own.

Before Ginny knew it, June 5th had arrived. It was a Friday again, which she was thankful for since she would be up throughout the night, so she would be able to sleep in the next day. She spent the evening in the common room studying extremely hard, much like all the other fifth years, as well as the seventh years. She packed up at 11, telling the group that she was studying with that she was tired and done for the night; little did they know that she had many other things planned that night.

She dumped the things she was using to study on her bedside table while the few things she would need for the ritual went in her now empty bag. She didn't need much, only the sheet with the needed runes as well as a spare piece of parchment and self-inking quill so she could write down the objects and locations that the ritual gave her. She left her dorm, heading up the stairs to the area at the top of the tower where the door leading down to the Chamber was; sneaking into the Chamber was much easier now that she knew about the other entrances, especially if she didn't want to arouse suspicion.

Once in the second common room of sorts, she easily found the hidden door and started the descent into the Chamber. Once in the Chamber, after the long climb down the staircase, she headed straight to the study. First, she unwarded the draw with the locket, placing it carefully in her bag. She then unwarded the second draw, pulling both remaining phials of her blood out, with those both going carefully in the front pocket of her bag. Once that was done, she left the study to collect the ritual brush that she had chosen to use for this step. The brush that she had chosen was much thinner than the one she had used for the first step but was just as comfortable in her hand. Once she had everything she needed, just started to climb the stairs again.

She eventually made it to the courtyard at the very top of the staircase. The courtyard was extremely dark since there was no moon in the sky to shine light on the ground, making it very hard to see. Ginny grimaced slightly; she struggled with the last few of the runes as it was, let alone when she could barely see what she was doing. However, she vaguely remembered that there was a torch or two on each of the walls of the courtyard that she would be able to light.

She lit her wand with a quick Lumos and scanned the walls, finding one torch on each wall apart from the wall with the door. She made her way around the courtyard, the light from her wand guiding her to the torches, and Harry lit them all one by one. Once all three torches were alight, there was enough light that Ginny would be able to see what she was doing and to light up the surrounding, but not enough to diminish the dark of the night that the ritual needed.

She made her way to the middle of the courtyard, much like she had done before the first step of the ritual. She placed her bag down on the ground before sitting next to it, in the same manner as she had during the first step; legs folded in front of her, her right slightly covering her left. She pulled the brush and its casing out first, laying it on the ground in front of her. She then pulled the locket out, laying it on her right knee. She then pulled out the sheet with the runes on it, laying it on the ground, weighing it down with the case of the ritual brush. Finally, she withdrew both phials of blood from her bag. She lay one on top of her almost empty bag, while the other rested upright and unstopped between her two legs.

She flicked Harry's wand, having already holstered her own, casting a tempest to check the time, since she had to start drawing the runes at midnight. It was 11:55. She allowed the floating clock to stay hovering off to her side and opened the case of the ritual brush, pulling the brush out with her left hand. With her right, she picked the locket up off her knee, resting her hand on her knee instead. As soon as the clock ticked over to midnight, she dipped the brush in the open phial of blood between her legs to begin drawing the first rune.

The first rune was Mannaz again, to help link the first and last steps, since it was in both, even though it was used for different reasons with different meanings. The lines to create the M-like shape were sharp and the points where the lines met were sharp, with the lines that made an x crossing a quarter of the way down the two vertical lines. Nauthiz was next and looked very similar to Naudr and Nied, with a diagonal line going from left to right crossing halfway through a vertical line. However, Nauthiz was a curved rune and Ginny made sure to accent the curves at the ends of each line.

Othala came next. Othala was created from two different shapes, being an unfinished triangle on top of an x. Ginny drew the two lines for the x first, with the points from the unfinished triangle meeting at a sharp point in line with the intersection of the x. The fourth rune to be drawn was Perthro. Perthro was very similar to Peor, the only difference being the depth that the v's at the top and the bottom. The v's on Peor reached a quarter of the way through the vertical line, while the v's of Perthro reaching their point a third of the way through the vertical line.

Thurisaz was next and again was similar to a rune that Ginny had already used, this time being similar to Thurs. The only difference being that the lines that created the point of the P-like shape didn't stop when they connected with the vertical line, instead extending just past it. After drawing Thurisaz, Ginny carefully shifted the locket so she could more easily access the area without freshly drawn runes for the last six. The next six runes were the hardest runes of the ritual, being Elven runes, rather than human runes.

Yen'Lui was the first Elven rune to be drawn and was a three-part rune. First came an S with a curved tail at the bottom that curled around to almost touch the end of the S. Next, a capital i went through the middle of the S, with the third part being a diagonal line crossing from right to left through the middle of the i and S. The next rune was Cynath, which looked much like a fancy 5. Some parts of the rune were thicker than others, meaning she had to go over those few parts a second time. Sariou was the next rune and it seemed like a mix of a C and a crescent moon. It was thicker in the middle than at the ends, making Ginny go over it a couple of times to get the thickness right.

The fourth Elven rune to go on the locket was Asur. Asur was a complicated shape, being an arch or door-like shape. The top line was thick had a triangle at each end, while one leg was thick and blocky. The other leg was a thin line, with a short horizontal line coming off it that went towards the first leg, with an s-like swirl pointing back up to the top line. Orio'Ur came next. It was made of all curves, with most of it looking like a 2, with another line reaching higher than the top of the 2, which was mostly straight but had a slight bend.

Ginny sighed slightly before starting the final rune. Her hand was starting to cramp, since she held the brush quite tightly while doing runes, especially such complicated runes like the Elven runes, but she didn't want to stop until she was done. La'Coi came last. It looked much like a fancy h, with the bottom of the hump curling slightly at the bottom. Once she had finished with La'Coi, Ginny carefully balanced the brush on her left knee, the bristles hanging off her knee slightly and over the ground. She placed the locket on the ground in front of her before starting to pack up.

She pulled her bag from behind her back to her front so she could access it easier. First to go in her bag was the instructions for the runes, which were closely followed by the empty and half empty phials, which were both corked. She stood then, holding the brush in her hand and moving away from her things to an area that she could use to wash the brush without getting anything wet. Using a small trickle of water from her wand, Ginny quickly and thoroughly washed all the blood from the brush. Once she was sure that all her blood was gone, she dried the brush and moved back to where all her stuff was, placing the brush back in its case and the case back in her bag. She cast a tempest, seeing that it was quarter to one, meaning she had around four hours before the sun started to rise.

Leaving her bag and the locket where they were, she left the courtyard, walking quickly through the small room and starting down the stairs. Now that she had a quick way to get back to Gryffindor tower, rather than having to walk all the way down the stairs and then make her way through the castle back up to the tower without being found, she was able to go back to bed between the start of the step and the end, rather than resting under a tree or sleeping in the room in the Chamber. The door that led into the room above the tower wasn't far from the top and it wasn't long before she was back in Gryffindor tower and in her room.

She quickly undressed and got into her pajamas, taking the holsters off her arms and placing them on the bedside table for quick access, like she always did. Her wand then went under her pillow, having set an alarm for a couple of hours later so that she could sleep and still get up in time to grab the locket as the sun started to rise.

Ginny couldn't remember falling asleep, but she must have as the next thing she knew was that her wand was vibrating under her pillow, waking her up. She grabbed it, a quick flick turning the alarm off before she holstered it and secured both holsters to her arms. She changed quickly before quietly leaving the dorms and heading up the stairs. She allowed Harry to take over for them, since he was already awake, and she was still half asleep; she would wake up as they headed up to the courtyard.

Harry quickly made his way up the stairs, easily finding the door that they needed and closing it behind them, before he continued to walk up. It wasn't long before he reached the room at the top of the stairs, walking through it and coming out into the courtyard. The torches that they had lit earlier were still burning, although they seemed to almost have burnt out; Harry shook their head slightly, stunned that they had forgotten to extinguish the torches, especially since neither of them had forgotten to do that before.

 **We were tired Harry. And nothing happened,** Ginny said, sounding more and more awake as she spoke.

 **That's true, I guess; the ritual did drain us again. Do you want to take over again?** he asked. Ginny didn't reply, but he felt her move forward again and in return slipped back into their mind, letting her take their body back for herself.

Ginny looked towards the horizon as she sat down next to the locket. She could just see a small prick of light in the distance, meaning the sun was coming but wasn't rising yet; she had a little while longer to wait then. While waiting, she grabbed her bag, pulling the parchment and self-inking quill out from under the things she had put in her bag after finishing drawing the runes. She lay the parchment and quill on the ground in front of her, next to the locket so she could easily reach it to write down the objects and places. As she went to zip her bag up again, she noticed the phials that had, and still did, contain her blood sitting innocently on top of the instructions and next to the brush container.

 **Now would be a good time to get rid of the blood, wouldn't it?** She asked, even though she knew how Harry would probably answer.

 **Yeah, it'll kill two bird with one stone. Give you something to do and get rid of the blood at the same time.** Ginny sighed, but stood up again. She knew that Harry was going to say that, but really couldn't be bothered right now. She was still partially asleep and didn't think lighting a fire was the best thing right now; it would be hot and bright which wasn't very nice when she wasn't fully awake and having someone not fully awake in charge of a fire probably wasn't the safest thing. She said so to Harry and felt his exasperation.

 **Then let me back in control and I'll do it.** She could almost see him rolling his eyes at her stubbornness. She sighed again before nodding and letting him come back to the front again, retreating back away from the front of their mind so she could wake up without experiencing the heat and light that would come with the fire.

Harry quickly found some sticks that had fallen from the tree in the courtyard and moved away from all the plants to a secluded corner of the courtyard to set up a small fire. Once he had stacked the sticks, he placed the phials on top, with the corks next to them. He unholstered his own wand and sent a small fire spell towards the wood. It took a couple of tries before the fire caught, but it wasn't long before the whole pile of wood was flaming happily.

Harry glanced over at the horizon a little while later, having been happy to just watch the flames, since he found fire somewhat calming to watch, and noticed that he could see half of the sun in the distance, which accompanied the various colours in the sky. He sprayed water over the fire to extinguish it and waited a couple of seconds to make sure it was only going to smoke before heading back to the locket. He sat down near the locket, parchment, and quill before letting Ginny come back into control again, knowing she wanted to be present and in control for all steps of the ritual.

Ginny blinked twice to shake away the weird feeling of switching control before leaning forward slightly and grabbing the locket. As soon as the locket was in her grip, she blacked out. She fell backwards without realizing it, the only thing she knew was the images flashing through her mind, each accompanied by a few words.

The black and white image of a diary that she knew intimately, a large, gaping hole through the center. A flash of the desk, followed by the words _Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts._

The black and white image of a ring with a small jewel, a crack running down the middle of a crest that Ginny recognized from one of her Ladyship rings. A flash of a desk, again followed by the words _Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts._

The coloured image of Slytherin's Locket as it had looked before they had started the ritual. A flash of the courtyard they were in, followed by the words _Roof Courtyard, Hogwarts._

The coloured image of a golden cup with a badger image that reminded her of the Hufflepuff crest. A flash of piles of money and other artefacts inside a Gringotts vault, followed by the words _Bellatrix Lestrange's Personal Vault, Gringotts._

The coloured image of a tiara like object with many blue jewels, a crow engraved on the largest jewel that looked much like the Ravenclaw crest. A flash of a collection of junk with the tiara on a large bust, followed by the words _Room of Hidden Things, Room of Requirement, Hogwarts._

The black and white image of Harry which was focused on his scar and then a black and white image of a black lump in a jar. A flash of an office, followed by the words _Chief Goblin's Office, Gringotts._

The coloured image of a large snake. A flash of an office where the snake was curled up in front of the fire, followed by the words _Lord's Office, Slytherin Manor._

Ginny blinked as she opened her eyes and sat up slowly, having apparently fallen backwards as she blacked out. She opened her hand, allowed the locket to slip from her grip as she grabbed the quill, pulling the parchment closer, writing down everything she could remember seeing.

_Diary, Headmaster's Office (Hogwarts) – destroyed_   
_Peverell Ring, Headmaster's Office (Hogwarts) – destroyed?_   
_Slytherin's locket, Rooftop Courtyard (Hogwarts{with us})_   
_Cup with badger {Hufflepuff's Cup?}, Bellatrix Lestrange's Personal Vault (Gringotts)_   
_Tiara thing with crow {Ravenclaw's?}, Room of Hidden Things (Room of Requirements, Hogwarts)_   
_The one from Harry, Chief Goblin's Office (Gringotts) – destroyed_   
_A snake {Voldemort's pet or familiar?}, Lord's Office (Slytherin Manor)_

**Why do you think the ring is destroyed?** Harry asked.

**The image of it was black and white, like the one of the diary and the one of the horcrux that was in you were, while the others were coloured. Did you not see them?**

**No, which is weird. I thought I would,** Harry replied. Ginny could feel his confusion.

**You should be able to find the memory if you want, but I don't think we'll need it. I'm pretty sure this is everything.**

**Well, three of seven are destroyed, so that's good. And we can destroy another two today; the locket and the tiara thing since that's at Hogwarts,** Harry said as she studied the sheet.

 **So that will only leave the snake and the cup. Which will be almost impossible to get,** Ginny sighed.

**Yeah. The snake is sure to be with Voldemort, so that'll be hard.**

**And no one has every broken into Gringotts and gotten out with what they were after.**

**There has to be a law or a clause or something that would let us get the cup out of her vault,** Harry tried. Ginny shrugged.

**I have no clue. I guess you're right; we'll need to talk to Remus and Sirius about this. They'll probably have an idea of how to get the one in Gringotts at least.**

**We'll do that later. Right now, let's destroy some Horcruxes.** Ginny grinned and got up; she was happy to follow Harry's suggestion. She quickly packed everything up, including grabbing the phials from the pile of burnt sticks. She decided to hold the locket, despite the fact that it felt horrible to hold and the magic looked disgusting; it would mean it would be easier to destroy since she wouldn't have to get it back out from her bag. She extinguished the torches that were still burning before she left as well, not wanting to make that mistake twice.

They reached the Chamber quite quickly, since Ginny may or may not have taken the stairs two at a time; they were both excited to finally be getting rid of the locket though, so Harry didn't comment on Ginny's antics. Ginny dumped her bag on the floor in the doorway of the study, continuing on to the middle of the Chamber, where Bonky and Kreacher had left the pile of basilisk fangs.

She lay the locket on the ground before grabbing a fang and walking back over to the locket. She tried to stab the locket, but the fang wouldn't pierce the metal of the outside, sliding off the smooth, curved surface every time she tried.

 **Maybe opening it would help?** Harry suggested hesitantly, clearly picking up on her frustration at the situation. Ginny sighed, taking a deep breath in and out before she nodded in agreement. She opened her mouth and hissed at the locket, mimicking the same noise that she used to get into the Chamber, the noise that Harry made whenever he said open.

It worked and the locket flipped open. A silvery figure started to rise out of the locket, but Ginny ignored it. Instead, she gripped the fang even harder and rammed it into the locket. She stabbed it twice, the left side and then the right. A loud scream emerged from the locket the sound made louder by the echoes reverberating around the Chamber. Ginny shuddered slightly at the sound. She looked down at the locket, the darkness that had surrounded the locket now gone, two holes glaring up at her where the pictures would normally go in a locket. The horcrux that had been in the locket was gone.

She stared at the locket for a while, before standing. She wanted to destroy the other remaining Horcrux in Hogwarts. She headed back to her bag, placing the locket and the fang inside it before slinging it over her shoulder and heading towards the exit. She was standing at the base of the slide that would turn into stairs before she stopped, realizing something.

 **I don't know where the Room of Requirements is,** she sighed.

 **Neither do I,** Harry said. She sighed. She would have to wait before she could destroy the next Horcrux then. But at least there were only three left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you all know, I am going back to only updating on the weekend. School's back, so the time I have to write is limited. Plus, there are only a few chapters left and they are proving hard to write.


	79. Informing Others

Ginny knocked on the door that led to the room they used for training sessions, not sure if Remus and Sirius would be in there yet or not. They had stopped using Remus' office once they started doing duels and battles so much, since there was only so many times that he could repair his furniture and the walls before reparo stopped being effective, so they had moved to an unused classroom where it wouldn't matter as much if things got broken. Sometimes she got there before Remus and Sirius, while other times they were already in the room waiting for her when she arrived. The door was opened by Remus and she stepped in, easily finding Sirius sitting on one of the tables in the corner.

Rather than moving to the middle of the room and drawing her wand, like she normally would since it was Wednesday which meant they would start with duels and battles, she summoned a chair and sat down. Harry had been nagging her since Saturday to talk to Remus and Sirius about the ritual, what it did, and everything to do with the Horcruxes. She had finally agreed Monday night, purely to get him to shut up; he always chose the worst times to nag her, such as while she was trying to study for her OWLs, which were next week; he knew it annoyed her too, which was what he was aiming for, since he knew that she would do it to get him to stop.

"What's up Ginny?" Sirius asked, jumping off the table and approaching her, dragging a chair behind him. He set the chair down opposite her, the back of it facing her, before straddling it and leaning on the back of the chair, arms folded in front of him.

"I ... uh ... wanted to talk to you ... about some things," she said hesitantly, not sure how to approach the conversation or how to expect them to react.

"Ok. We can do that," Remus agreed, pulling his own chair over and sitting on it in a much more normal way than Sirius was.

"What do you want to talk about?" Sirius asked. Ginny paused for a second, not really sure what to start with.

**What should I start with? The ritual or horcruxes?**

**Start with the ritual,** Harry suggested. Ginny nodded, knowing that neither Sirius nor Remus would question it, since they were used to her interactions with Harry.

"Well, I guess the first thing I should tell you is that the ritual is complete. I finished it last Friday."

"Did it work?" Remus asked anxiously. Ginny nodded.

"It did. It did exactly what it was meant to do. Now I have to actually use the information that the ritual gave me or it will have been pointless."

"What information? You said it would weaken a Dark Lord," Sirius said. Ginny fiddled with her Potter ring, not meeting their eyes. She hated that she had deceived them about something like that, something they had trusted her to do without questioning everything, or even anything; especially after all the help they had given her, both with the ritual and with her lessons, plus the fact that they kept her informed about what was going on when every other adult would say she was too young.

"The ritual will allow me to weaken Voldemort. It just gives me the information to do that, rather than the ritual itself weakening him," she explained.

"What are you talking about Ginny?" Remus asked slowly. Ginny paused for a minute, trying to work out how to explain things.

"At the moment, no one can kill Voldemort. And it has nothing to do with the prophecy." She sighed before continuing. "Anyone could kill him, but he wouldn't die. He would come back again, just like he did last time." Both Sirius and Remus paled at the implications behind what she was saying.

"Are you saying the Voldemort is immortal," Sirius asked, his tone taking on a hint of panic; not that Ginny blamed them for panicking since they had basically found out that one of the worst Dark Lord's in history couldn't die.

"Yes. At the moment, Voldemort is immortal. The ritual, however, gave me all the information I need to remove his immortality, to make him mortal again." Sirius ran his hand through his hair and released a shaky laugh, while Remus was gripping the arms of his chair very tightly, his knuckles white.

"How do you know? How did you even find out that Voldemort is immortal?" Remus asked, slowly loosening his grip on the arms of the chair, his knuckles slowly gaining colour again.

"A few things tipped us off. Mainly the fact that Harry was somehow connected to his immortality, which then made us think that the diary from my first year was connected as well," she said. She really didn't want to have to tell them that Harry had been a Horcrux. At least, she didn't want to tell them without explaining everything first; she knew she would have to tell them, no matter how much she didn't want to.

"You're not explaining everything," Sirius said. Ginny nodded.

"What aren't you saying?" Remus asked. Ginny didn't say anything for a moment before she gathered all her courage, which was a considerable amount, and decided to just go for it.

"What do you know about Horcruxes?" she asked, going straight to the middle of the problem.

"How do you know that word?" Sirius demanded. Ginny startled slightly; she had thought she would need to explain what a Horcrux was. Although, if either of them was going to know, she should have known it would be Sirius; his family was definitely the darker of his and Remus'.

"What are Horcruxes?" Remus asked. Sirius turned to face Remus.

"They are dark, dark magic. The one of the blackest magics, if not the blackest magic. It is something that should never have existed," he explained seriously, his face dark. He then turned to face Ginny again. "And they are something that no teenager should know about. So, I repeat. How do you know that word?" Ginny shrugged, not meeting Sirius' eye.

"That didn't explain what they are Siri," Remus said, drawing Sirius' attention away from Ginny, since he was glaring at her, trying to make her answer the question. 

"A Horcrux is a container for part of someone's soul. You split your soul through murder and then a ritual encases the soul piece in another object. As long as the Horcrux survives, you can't die because your soul is anchored to the plane of the living. There are only a few ways to destroy a Horcrux, since the dark magic, the black magic, used to create it is so strong and protective of the soul encased in the container, meaning the only way to destroy one is to irreparably damage it. Fiendfyre and basilisk venom. The killing curse may work if enough power is put behind it that the soul is killed, but that hasn't been proven. Goblins have a way to destroy them as well, since Horcruxes are magics far darker than they are willing to ignore," Ginny explained. Remus stared at her, his mouth open slightly in shock and face a picture of disgust, while Sirius seemed shocked at how much she knew about them.

"You know more about them than I do, and I'm a Black. I only knew that it was an object that stored part of someone's soul. My father taught us about them when he was teaching us other dark magic, but he mainly focused on the fact that you should never make one," Sirius said quietly. Ginny shrugged.

"I had to know what I'm up against," she replied. Remus closed his mouth and swallowed.

"You're saying that Voldemort made a Horcrux?" Remus asked. Ginny shook her head.

"No, he didn't make a Horcrux." She paused and both men were mouthing wordlessly at her, clearly trying to work out why she had brought them up if Voldemort hadn't made one.

"Then why did you bring it up?" Remus asked.

"I brought it up because Voldemort didn't make one. He made several."

"He did what?" Sirius managed to choke out after several minutes of silence.

"He made several Horcruxes. That was what the ritual was for. It showed me what object each of his Horcruxes is, where they are right now, and if they have been destroyed or not, and the order they were created in, I think," Ginny explained.

"Do you know how many he made?" Remus asked. Ginny nodded.

"There are, or were, seven." She made sure to carefully word that, since they were pretty sure that Voldemort hadn't intended to make seven.

"Seven," Remus breathed in shock. Ginny nodded again, understanding why that would come as a shock, since none of them could even think about doing anything to make one.

"How do you even know he made more than one?" Sirius asked. Ginny sighed; this was the part she hadn't looked forward to.

"When Harry went to Gringotts during the holidays of his fourth year, which was when he claimed his Lordships, he took the Lordship test, to see which Lordships he was eligible for. The test also told of any other magic attached to him, such as our soul bond and the love sacrifice left on him from his parents. There was another thing attached to him as well. Harry was a Horcrux." She watched as the magic surrounding the two men in front of her flared stronger than they had from the other revelations that she had made that day.

"Harry was a Horcrux? How?" Remus asked.

"From the information we've found in Slytherin's library in the Chamber of Secrets, which I will explain all about later if you want, splitting your soul multiple times makes your soul unstable. Having your soul in more than three pieces, including the portion in your body, makes it liable to shatter if you are vanquished. Like what happened that Halloween, when the killing curse rebounded and hit Voldemort, his soul shattered, with half of it lodging itself in Harry's scar. When the goblins found out, they offered Harry a potion that would remove the Horcrux from him, but it would also remove the love sacrifice. After the Horcrux was moved from his body, the goblins destroyed it," Ginny explained.

"Do you think Voldemort knew about that?" Sirius asked.

"No. Harry and I have agreed that he didn't know Harry was a Horcrux, or else he wouldn't have been constantly attacking him. He most likely didn't find the books that we found our information in, since they didn't look like they had been touched in at least a century."

"Ok. That doesn't explain how you found out that there was more than one," Remus said shakily.

"From what we knew, which honestly wasn't much at the time, we figured that the diary was one. What it did was a lot more than any spell or enchantment could do. I had been thinking about how Voldemort had survived that night and mentioned the diary and Harry mentioned what he knew about Horcruxes from when he had visited Gringotts. Plus, if Harry had been one, and we believe he was accidental, there must have been at least one more, since Voldemort hadn't been surprised that he didn't die. And, since the diary was destroyed before he came back, there must have been at least one more, since he was able to come back after the one in Harry was destroyed," Ginny explained.

"That does make a lot of sense," Remus agreed.

"Yeah. And Harry pointed out that Voldemort had said he had gone further down the path to immortality than any other, and there have been other instances of people, mainly Dark Lords and Dark Ladies, making a Horcrux, so to go further would hint at more than one."

"How did you find the ritual? It doesn't sound like something that would be made unless someone else needed it for the same reason."

"As I said, I found it in a book that was written by the person who created the ritual. What I neglected to say was that I found it in the Chamber of Secrets and that it was handwritten by Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin's son became a Dark Lord and made multiple Horcruxes. Slytherin created the ritual so that he could destroy the Horcruxes before killing his son, since he couldn't allow his son to continue terrorizing everyone. He successfully made and used the ritual and left Hogwarts to hunt the Horcruxes and then his son and didn't make it back to Hogwarts; he was killed in the same duel that he killed his son in, according to an entry made by his daughter," Ginny said, adding the extra information since she knew that Remus loved learning new things.

"And how did you do the ritual? You mentioned having to draw the runes on an object," Remus said after making a mental note to write down what Ginny had just told them.   
"The ritual may have required one of the Horcruxes to draw the runes on. Anyway, the runes on the Horcrux plus the rune circle of the second step led to a connection being made between all the Horcruxes, and when I held the Horcrux after the last step it gave me the information I needed."

"You needed a Horcrux," Sirius deadpanned. Ginny grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah. It honestly wasn't hard to find one though. Then again, it really was just pure luck that one of them happened to be in Grimmauld Place," she said thoughtfully.

"There was a Horcrux at Grimmauld Place?" Sirius choked.

"Yep. Kreacher was trying to destroy it since that was his last order from Regulus, since Regulus died trying to get that one," Ginny said before quieting to allow Sirius the silence to rethink everything he thought he knew about his younger brother.

"You said you know where each of them are and what they are?" Remus asked while Sirius had a silent debate with himself, which was understandable since everything he thought he had known about his brother had been tipped on its head. Ginny nodded, pulling out an updated version of the list she had made the other day, since she had managed to ask around about some of the things she had seen and found what some of them were called. She handed it over to Remus to read. 

_Diary, Headmaster's Office (Hogwarts) – destroyed (Harry, basilisk fang)_   
_Peverell Ring, Headmaster's Office (Hogwarts) – destroyed_   
_Slytherin's locket, Chamber of Secrets (Hogwarts) – destroyed (Ginny, basilisk fang)_   
_Hufflepuff's Cup, Bellatrix Lestrange's Personal Vault (Gringotts)_   
_Ravenclaw's Diadem, Room of Hidden Things (Room of Requirements, Hogwarts)_   
_The one from Harry, Chief Goblin's Office (Gringotts) – destroyed (goblins)_   
_Nagini {Voldemort's familiar}, Lord's Office (Slytherin Manor)_

"He used founders' relics as Horcruxes?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. I used the locket for the ritual and then destroyed it."

"The hardest one will be Voldemort's familiar, and possibly the one in Gringotts."

"That's what we thought. The one in Gringotts should be able to be destroyed if we find the right clause or loophole, but I don't have the time for that at the moment. Nagini, his snake, will have to be the last one, since she's always with him," Ginny agreed.

"What about the one in Hogwarts?" Remus asked. Ginny raised an eyebrow; he couldn't be more specific, considering four of them were at Hogwarts right now?

"Ravenclaw's Diadem," he supplied.

"If we can find it, we can destroy it. I just don't know where it is. The Room of Requirement isn't on the Marauder's Map," Ginny said with a huff; she was annoyed that she hadn't been able to destroy it when she destroyed the locket. Remus hummed.

"It's unplottable, so we couldn't add it to the map, even though we tried. We do know where it is though, and since this provides the exact room needed, the only problem will be finding it in the room. We can look for it after we finish talking if you want; you'd just have to grab a fang to destroy it." Ginny pulled one of the smaller fangs out of the protected pocket of her bag; the pocket had been designed to keep potions in, but she felt that it was better to carry the fang with her in case she stumbled across the Room of Requirements.

"Should I ask why you have a basilisk fang in your bag?" Remus asked, sounding a mix of amused and concerned.

"What if I stumbled across the Room of Requirements, found the Horcrux and then wasn't able to destroy it. They feel disgusting to carry around," she said with an innocent smile that she had learned from the twins. Remus shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. Sirius finally came out of his head and his internal conflict and took the list from Remus. He read the list over before nodding to himself.

"The one at Gringotts should be easy to get. There are multiple clauses in vault ownership that many overlook, but that my father drilled in to me and Reggie when we were children in our lessons. One of them is that you need a permit from the goblins to store any dark artefacts in your vault and you need a separate permit for each object. If Bellatrix does have a permit for it, I can still claim her vault as the Head of her birth house, since she is a fugitive," Sirius said.

"Are you going to Gringotts any time soon?" Remus asked.

"I can ask for an appointment for this weekend. The goblins will either destroy it for us, if she doesn't have a permit, or I can bring it with me next time I visit."

"That sounds like a good plan," Ginny agreed.

**Look at that, he does use his brain,** Harry snarked. Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry's comment.

**Be nice to your godfather. He does use it occasionally,** she replied, sending Harry a smirk when he started laughing at her reply.

"What I'm concerned about is the fact that two of them are in Dumbledore's office," Sirius said, pointing that out.

"I get that the diary is, since Dobby probably gave it back after Harry used it to free him, but I have no clue about the ring. I didn't even know it existed before doing the ritual," Ginny said.

"The fact that it is destroyed points to Dumbledore having destroyed it," Remus said.

"It does. But that also means that Dumbledore knows about them and hasn't told anyone," Sirius said.

"Did not think of that," Ginny muttered.

"There's not really anything we can do about that now. How about we go destroy that Horcrux?" Remus asked.


	80. Collection and Destruction

Ginny put the fang back in the protected pocket of her bag and zipped it, swinging her bag over her shoulder. Sirius stood as well, pulling Remus up with him.

"Lead the way then," Ginny said. Remus led her and Sirius through the castle and up to the seventh floor. Sirius stopped her in front of a tapestry of a man trying to teach trolls ballet, while Remus paced in front of a blank wall. As Remus passed the wall for a third time, a door appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Remus opened the door and held it open, allowing Sirius and Ginny to enter the room before him.

They spent the next half an hour searching for the diadem amidst all the junk, rubbish, and abandoned items in the room. It was Sirius who finally found it, calling out for them from his position near a bust of a man. As Ginny got closer, she immediately recognized it as the diadem from the image the ritual had showed her and confirmed it was what they were looking for, since Sirius had thought it was but had never seen it so wasn't sure; even if she hadn't known what the diadem looked like, the magic clinging to it would have been enough evidence. Sirius levitated it on to the ground since none of them wanted to touch it if they didn't have to.

Ginny withdrew the fang from her bag, holding it tightly in her hand. Remus and Sirius backed away from Ginny and the diadem, giving her space to destroy it. She knelt down next to the diadem and took a deep breath before bringing her arm down, plunging the fang into the stone in the middle of the diadem. A loud scream emerged from the diadem, much like it had from the locket, the sound loud and haunting. As she watched, the black and blood red magic around the diadem faded before fully disappearing.

"Well, at least that's another one destroyed," Remus said a while later, since the three of them had been kneeling or standing in silence since the scream had gone through the room.

"Yeah. Two left," Ginny agreed as she slowly got to her feet.

"Do they all scream like that?" Sirius asked, shaking himself.

"The locket did. Harry says the diary did as well, after trying to kill him. The one that was in Harry didn't, but I don't think that it was destroyed when it was taken out of Harry, just put in another object and was destroyed later," Ginny replied slowly, head tilted slightly as she listened to what Harry was saying and repeating it in her own words.   
"Creepy," Ginny heard Sirius mutter under his breath. Ginny picked the diadem up, placing it in her bag to go in the Chamber with the locket.

"If you're able to get the cup from Gringotts, can you bring it to me? I want to collect all of them to make sure they're destroyed and for evidence of their destruction," Ginny said, turning to face the two men.

"Sure. The goblins should let me take it if I seize the vault as her Head of House, and it is possible that they will let me keep the artefact since I brought it to their attention if she doesn't have a permit for it," Sirius agreed.

"Oh, Sirius, I was wondering about that Head of House stuff. Could you teach me what I need to know as Lady to Harry's various Houses?" Ginny asked, remembering what she had meant to ask him during the holidays; she had forgotten in light of her mum finding out about many of her secrets; she had just barely kept her mum from finding out details about the ritual, or extra curricular project, and that had totally distracted her from asking Sirius.

"I can start to teach you what I know in your Monday lessons during the summer if you want, since you don't have runes to work on any more. But those lessons may take all day so that you can learn the basics before school. Most purebloods who will inherit are trained from birth, so there's a lot to learn."

"Thanks Sirius."

"Are you planning on getting the ones that are in Dumbledore's office?" Remus asked after a moment.

"I'm planning on it, yeah," she agreed casually. She was pretty sure it would be easy to break into his office, and with her different abilities and resources she wasn't worried.

"Should we ask how you plan to do that?" Sirius asked. Ginny grinned. 

"You're marauders, you work it out." 

"That's what I was afraid of," Remus said with a sigh.

"But we were never to break into his office," Sirius whined at the same time.

"Anyway, we should get going so I can get back to the tower and get some studying in," Ginny said. She started heading back the way they had come, Remus and Sirius following her a few moments later.

* * *

It wasn't until a week later that Sirius managed to get to Gringotts for an appointment with Jangrak, since the goblin had mentioned a few things they would need to go over, making Sirius put aside a whole day for the meeting, rather than just the afternoon like he had originally planned.

The meeting did take hours, having to go through investments, holdings, properties, finances, and anything else that fell under vault contents, since they hadn't had a meeting in over a year and many things had piled up. Thankfully, they finally finished going over everything, meaning Sirius could get to the reason he arranged for a meeting in the first place.

"Is there anything else I can help you with today Lord Black?" Jangrak asked after placing the last of the files away.

"There is actually. I was hoping to take control of Bellatrix Lestrange's personal vault, under the reasoning that I am the Head of her Birth House and she is a fugitive," Sirius said. He had decided to just seize the vault and then, when going over the contents, ask about the Horcrux, since he could claim that he was unknowing about if there was a permit for it. And it had the added bonus of taking some of the monetary backing from the Death Eaters.

"That should be doable. I will have to get some paperwork from the Lestrange Account Manager for you to sign, but it will be done." Jangrak pressed a button on his desk and spoke rapidly into it.

"Was there anything else?"

"I would like to look into any permits that she had for her vault to take stock of what dark artefacts she keeps in there."

"Permits for the vault are part of the paperwork needed in a vault seize and will arrive shortly."

Five minutes later another goblin arrived with all the paperwork and files that was needed. Jangrak thanked the goblin before they started going through all the paperwork needed for him to take control of the vault; there were a lot of things that needed to be signed. They eventually reached the permits that they had to go through. There was only two permits there, one for having a set of cursed jewelry and the other to have a set of blades that were coated in various different poisons of a range of legality. There was no permit for the Horcrux.

"May I go visit the vault. I would like to see if there is anything else in there that I need to be aware of that doesn't require a permit," he asked.

"I will take you down there now," Jangrak replied, putting the files and paperwork away before standing and leading Sirius out.

They reached the vault after a long cart ride, and a dragon. Jangrak opened the vault for him, since it didn't have a key, and he stepped inside. He quickly disregarded the money that was stacked in the center of the vault, his main aim being to find the cup. Ginny had described it for him, so he had an idea of what he was looking for. He took note of the weapons and jewelry along the walls, as well as the books, paintings, and other artefacts as he moved through the vault.

He finally spotted the cup, sitting on the top of a pile of artefacts. It had a badger engraved on it, just like Ginny had said, as well as two fine handles on the sides. He stepped towards it, grabbing it from the pile that it rested on. As soon as he had it in his hand, he knew what Ginny had meant when she said that it felt disgusting to hold a Horcrux. He had a suspicion that it was only because he knew what it was that it felt so revolting, but either way the feeling made him want to get rid of it as quickly as he could. Cup held gingerly in his hand, he headed over to Jangrak, who was waiting at the opening of the vault.

"Would you be able to examine this Jangrak? It feels like it's covered in dark magic," Sirius said, handing the cup over. Jangrak examined the cup, a frown making its way onto his face as he went.

"Yes, this reek of Black Magic. We will take this up for a more thorough examination and have it destroyed if it is what I suspect. Are you done here?"

"Yes, I am," Sirius said. Jangrak nodded and they both got back in the cart and took off. Once the cart ride was over, Jangrak led them through the halls of the bank to another office. Jangrak knocked and then gestured for Sirius to go in first.

Sirius entered and took the seat indicated, sitting back as Jangrak and the other goblin in the office spoke rapidly with each other, unable to follow the conversation due to it being in the goblin's native language. He continued to simply sit back and watch as the goblin whose office they were in left with the cup, coming back ten minutes later, looking satisfied. The goblin sat down, sliding the cup towards him over the desk.

"You may take the cup with you. It is no longer contaminated with such foul magic," the goblin said.

"Thank you for purifying it. Is there a cost?" Sirius replied, picking the cup up; he could tell almost instantly that it was no longer a Horcrux, simply by the fact that he didn't feel disgusting holding it.

"No cost for destroying magic as Black as that. That was a Horcrux."

"Thank you. May your gold flow and your enemies tremble before you," Sirius said, inclining his head.

"And may your weapon never dull," the goblin replied as Jangrak stood and led Sirius back to the entrance of Gringotts, now with a cup that was no longer a Horcrux; mission accomplished.

* * *

Ginny was sitting in her dorm on her bed, watching the Marauder's Map. Almost everyone was outside, enjoying the sunshine as they relaxed, enjoying the fact that all their exams were done. She was incredibly happy that her OWLs were over, and that she wouldn't have to worry about how she did until the holidays when the results came from the Ministry. However, at the moment she had something to do other than just relax in the sun and wait for term to finish; she was waiting for the best time to break into Dumbledore's office.

They had already decided to gather all the Horcruxes and she had told Remus and Sirius that she would get the diary and the ring from Dumbledore's office. What she hadn't told them was how she planned to do that. Right now, she was waiting for Dumbledore to leave his office; she knew that he would be leaving soon, since she had overheard one of her examiners commenting about a lunch they were having with Dumbledore after the last exams, which had been that morning. As soon as he left, she was going to go for it.

She sat, simply watching the map, for another twenty minutes before the dot labelled _Albus Dumbledore_ left the Headmaster's office. She pulled out the invisibility cloak and wrapped it around herself and left the dorm, keeping an eye on the map as she went. She made her way quickly through the castle, using the map to find the quickest way to the gargoyle outside her target and being careful to avoid being heard when she occasionally passed people. She made it to the entrance without incident, stopping in front of the gargoyle and turning her attention to the map.

Harry had told her how it had told him the password to the secret passageway that lead to the cellar of Honey dukes, and was hoping that it would show the password for Dumbledore's office the same way. She focused on her dot, labelled _Ginevra Potter_ , zooming in slightly, and tapped the dot. She watched as her dot became a little figure of herself, watching as the little figure stepped forward and simply placed its hand on the gargoyle. She nodded to herself, understanding what she needed to do. She had thought about using her Gryffindor ring to get in, but wasn't sure if it would work, and the map had just confirmed that it would.

She released the glamour on the Gryffindor Ladyship ring and stepped towards the gargoyle, placing her hand on it just like the figure on the map had done. A second later, the gargoyle started to move, allowing her to make her way up to the Headmaster's office. The next obstacle came in the form of wards around the door at the top, but she bypassed them in the same way she had done the gargoyle, by placing her hand on the door and letting her Gryffindor ring do its thing. As she pushed the door open, the warm presence that she had felt in her mind at the start of the previous year appeared again, giving her an idea of how to keep the fact that the office was broken into a secret, rather than just who did it.

"Lady Gryffindor requests your silence," she said as she fully stepped into the room, pulling the cloak off as she did, the warm presence having hinted that the portraits wouldn't be able to say anything about her being there. The portraits started murmuring amongst themselves about the information she had just given them, discussing how there was a new Head to one of the Founder's families.

She ignored their talking and headed over to Dumbledore's desk, since the ritual had shown that that was where the previous Horcruxes were. The only problem was finding which drawer they were in; there were six. She placed the Map on the desk so she could watch it, to make sure no one was coming, before she pulled the first drawer open.

The first drawer was full of loose pieces of parchments and a couple of notebooks on top. She pulled out the notebooks on top and worked through the pile of parchments, pushing them around in the drawer to see if anything was underneath them. Once she was sure that neither the diary nor the ring were in the drawer, she replaced the notebooks in the drawer, doing her best to make it look how it had before she had gone through it. Once sure that her search wouldn't be noticed, she closed the drawer, moving on to the second drawer, below the first. The second drawer was full of writing implements. There was a variety of different quills, as well as a large selection of ink pots. She could easily see that neither of the objects she was looking for were in there, so closed the drawer and moved to the bottom drawer on that side.

That drawer was again full of notebooks. She pulled the out one at a time, being careful to make sure that she didn't overlook the diary that she was searching for. She was almost certain that the diary would be in that drawer since it wouldn't look out of place amongst the notebooks. The very last book in the drawer was the diary that she was looking for and she grinned. One down, one to go. She put the diary aside on the desk and started putting the notebooks back in the drawer. She continued to glance at the Map as she did, glad to see that no little labelled dots were heading towards the Headmaster's office.

She moved on to the top drawer on the other side of the desk. That drawer was full of a variety of objects and artefacts. She scanned the collection, her gaze finally landing on the ring that she was looking for. She pulled the ring out of the drawer, setting it on the desk with the diary, before closing the drawer again.

Her goal achieved, she pulled the cloak on again, before grabbing the ring and the diary and placing them in her pocket. She then took the Map off the desk, pulling it under the cloak as well and examined it. She noticed the dot labelled _Albus Dumbledore_ seemed to be heading towards the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the office she was in right then. She had been longer than she thought, meaning she would have to be careful as she left to make sure she wasn't spotted.

She left the office without a word, keeping an eye on the map as she walked down the spiral staircase. She stopped at the bottom, seeing the Dumbledore's dot was in sight of the gargoyle; if she left now, he would see the gargoyle move and know someone was there. Instead, she waited, standing slightly off to the side on the bottom step. A few minutes later, the gargoyle sprang aside, and Dumbledore stepped through, allowing her to slip back out into the castle without anyone noticing.

She headed down to the Chamber, putting the diary and the ring in the bag with the cup, diadem, and locket. She took the bag with her as she left the Chamber, taking it to Remus, since he and Sirius were going to use them as evidence when they brought up the topic of Horcruxes with Dumbledore.

After dropping the bag of destroyed Horcruxes off at Remus' office, she headed outside, intent to enjoy the sunshine without the worry of exams just like everyone else was doing.


	81. Confrontation

It was the first week of the holidays and there was an Order meeting that afternoon. It would be the first Order meeting they had had since the exams had started at Hogwarts, since the staff who were part of the Order were all extremely busy during that time.

"I still think we should bring up the Horcruxes at the meeting," Sirius said, stepping back into the room while drying his hair. Remus sighed, not even looking up from his book that he was reading while sitting on their bed.

"And I still say that we should speak to Dumbledore about it in private," he replied. They had been going back and forth all day, debating if they should bring the topic up or not. The two of them, along with Ginny and Harry, had already agreed that they would bring up the topic of Horcruxes with Dumbledore at the start of the holidays, but Ginny and Harry had left it to them to figure out how to do so and who to do it around. He looked up from his book to see Sirius staring at him, a pleading look on his face; he could almost never say no to Sirius' puppy dog eyes, and Sirius knew it.

"Fine, but you have to bring it up," Remus finally said.

"Fair enough. Can you bring the bag?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded, going back to his book.

"It's in the top draw of my desk. Can you put it in one of the pockets of my jacket?"

"Will do." Remus continued to read while listening to Sirius get ready for the meeting, already being ready himself.

"Ok, let's go Moony." Remus marked where he was up to and closed his book before allowing Sirius to pull him to his feet and out of the room; anyone would think that Sirius was looking forward to the confrontation with the Headmaster.

* * *

Dumbledore looked around the room once Hestia Jones finished giving her report.

"Is there anything else?" he asked, clearly expecting a negative reply, since that was how everyone normally responded. Sirius intended on surprising him, though.

"There is something, Dumbledore," Sirius said. Remus moved his chair sideways slightly, knowing how his partner could get when he got fired up, like he was prone to do during arguments and definitely going to during the conversation that was to come.

"Is there Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling.

"Yes, there is. There's something I want to know."

"And what would that be?" Dumbledore asked calmly, either not picking up on the warning signs of Sirius' anger or ignoring them.

"How long were you going to let us fight Voldemort, knowing that he can't die," Sirius demanded, placing both hands on the table in front of him and leaning forward slightly. Everyone around the table turned to stare at Sirius in disbelief, meaning that he and Remus were the only two who noticed the shock on Dumbledore's face.

"What are you talking about Sirius?" Minerva asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that Voldemort is immortal at the moment and has been since before he graduated from Hogwarts. And the fact that Dumbledore knows this."

"What?" Tonks asked weakly, her hair paling from its vivid pink and wilting slightly.

"I have had my suspicions for years but didn't have proof until four years ago. Since then, I have done my best to destroy the objects that are the key to Lord Voldemort's immortality and was recently able to destroy one of these objects, though not without injury," Dumbledore explained gravely, removing a glamour from his hand to show that it was blackened and shriveled. "I did not want to tell people as I did not want anyone to panic, especially if the information was made public. It would cause mass panic."

"You'll be happy to know then, Headmaster, that only one of said objects still exists, with the rest all being destroyed without any injury occurring," Remus added quietly, deciding now was a good time to add his input, since Sirius didn't seem like he was going to explode; Dumbledore's explanation had made sense, meaning Sirius would likely calm down.

"And we know what the last one is, even if it will be almost impossible to destroy," Sirius added, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back again.

"What are you talking about?" Molly demanded, looking between Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus.

"We're talking about an extremely dark magic. One of the blackest magics in existence which prevents you from fully dying," Dumbledore explained. Sirius rolled his eyes at the way that Dumbledore was skating around the actual issue.

"They're called Horcruxes. They're basically an object that has part of someone's soul encased in them, which in turn anchors that person to the mortal world, since there is a part of their soul that can't move on, so they won't either," Sirius explained grimly.

"Why are they so dark?" Molly asked, seeming confused. Remus didn't blame her though, it didn't sound dark until it was explained.

"The soul isn't meant to be torn apart, or even split. To do so is to violate the natural order of things."

"What Dumbledore isn't saying is that you split your soul through murder. To make a Horcrux though, a ritual has to be done as well, to tear the split section of the soul out of the body," Sirius added bluntly. Molly looked repulsed at the very idea, as did many of the other members around the table.

"How do you know about how they're made?" Kingsley asked.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm a Black. One of the Darker Houses in this world, if not the Darkest; it's said that the Blacks have learnt and then forgotten more dark magic than most people ever learn. I grew up learning about the Dark Arts, just like every other Black. And my father touched on Horcruxes with me and Reggie. The thing that clued me in on how dark they were, though, was that most of the lesson on them was the repercussions and the reasons not to, rather than how they work and how to make one. Anything else that I know comes from research I did after finding out about Voldemort's."

"Can you destroy a Horcrux?" Tonks asked hesitantly. Sirius nodded.

"You can. There are only a few ways though, since you have to irreparably destroy the container. The two ways that a wizards can do it is by using basilisk venom or Fiendfyre. The goblins also have a way of destroying them, but we don't know what it is. I am curious, however, about how you destroyed the ring that was in your office Dumbledore, since I know you wouldn't have access to basilisk venom and know the dangers of Fiendfyre."

"The sword of Gryffindor is imbibed with basilisk venom," Dumbledore said simply, gaining many nods of understanding from those around the table.

"How did you destroy them?" Minerva asked.

"Some of them with basilisk venom. Others were destroyed by the goblins," Remus explained.

"Where did you find basilisk venom?" Snape demanded.

"We have our ways," Sirius replied, waving his hand dismissively. Snape sneered but didn't press the issue.

"What I would like to know, Sirius, Remus, is how even you know about the ones Voldemort made," Dumbledore said.

"Our friend," Sirius began, only for Remus to interrupt him when Remus noticed the confused look on Dumbledore's face.

"The one who offered the different interpretation of the prophecy," Remus provided. Dumbledore nodded and Sirius continued.

"Our friend found a ritual that is designed to weaken a Dark Lord, as most of you know, since a few of you provided materials for this ritual. After the ritual was completed, they came to us to explain exactly what the ritual was for. This ritual was designed to tell whoever conducted it, exactly what each horcrux that a specific person made is or was, where they are, and if they are destroyed or not. After gaining this knowledge, our friend came to us to aid them in accessing one of them, since it was out of their reach," Sirius explained.

"The ritual worked then," Moody asked gruffly.

"It did. They finished it on June 5th and we collectively decided to raise the topic once we had dealt with all the Horcruxes that it was possible to get and destroy," Remus explained.

"How many were there?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"There were seven, with only one still remaining intact," Sirius said.

"What were they?" Kingsley asked. Remus and Sirius exchanged glanced before Remus nodded, indicating he would answer; the revelation that Harry had been a Horcrux had hit both of them hard, but hit Sirius harder, especially with the other revelations they had had during that conversation. Remus pulled a bag out from one of his pockets and cancelled the shrinking charm on it; they had collected all the destroyed Horcruxes for proof that they had been destroyed.

"Tom Riddle's diary, which was destroyed by Harry in his second year when he stabbed it with a basilisk fang. It was made when he was only sixteen." He pulled out the diary, placing it on the table in front of him and ignoring the small gasp that came from Molly and Arthur when they recognized it as the object that had almost resulted in Ginny's death.

"A Peverell ring, which Professor Dumbledore destroyed. It was made before his seventh year." A lot of research had gone into finding out everything they could about each of the Horcruxes. He placed the ring on the table, ignoring Dumbledore's exclamation of shock that they had gotten the both of Horcruxes that had been in his office.

"Slytherin's locket, which was destroyed by our friend who stabbed it with a basilisk fang. It was made before he was twenty." The locket, still open so everyone could see the puncture marks, was placed next to the ring.

"Hufflepuff's cup, which was destroyed by the goblins. It was made only months after the locket." The cup was placed next to the locket.

"Ravenclaw's diadem, which was destroyed by our friend who stabbed it with a basilisk fang. He made it before he was forty." The diadem joined the other four destroyed Horcruxes on the table. He took another breath before continuing.

"Harry was made a Horcrux when the killing curse rebounded, since splitting his soul made it so unstable that the killing curse caused it to shatter and half of it to latch onto Harry, and it was destroyed by the goblins. The last Horcrux is still intact since it will be almost impossible to get close enough to destroy it. The final Horcrux is Nagini, Voldemort's familiar."

"Are you sure they're all destroyed?" Dumbledore asked.

"Positive. Either we or our friend saw them all either stabbed with a basilisk fang, which held the venom to destroy the Horcruxes, or destroyed by the goblins, other than the one that you destroyed Dumbledore. And we are sure that they are all destroyed as our friend can also see magical traces and can confirm that the magic created from a Horcrux no longer exists around these objects," Sirius said. Remus was a little surprised that no one picked up on the fact that their friend had seen all of them destroyed, since many of them knew that only Ginny and Harry had been around when the diary was destroyed; he had thought that Sirius had let something important slip, but apparently not.

"Where did you get a basilisk fang?"

"Again, we have our sources. But if you must know, our friend provided it." Again, Remus was surprised by how no one questioned that, when the last sighting of a basilisk, other than the one in the Chamber, had been centuries ago. Then ago, many of the Order knew that it was a bad idea to annoy Sirius, so were probably playing it safe by letting the matter drop.

"And before you ask, yes, we can confirm that our friend is trustworthy, is telling the full truth, and that the basilisk fang was the real deal," Remus added.

"So we just need to kill the snake for You-Know-Who to be able to die," Tonks said. Sirius nodded.

"We just need to kill the snake."


	82. Preparation

Ginny sat back in her chair, relaxing slightly from the strict posture that she needed to hold during the etiquette lessons with Sirius. They had finished their lesson for the day, and she still had an hour or so until her mum expected her home; she had told her what she was learning on Mondays so she could have the whole day, plus her mum knew she was emancipated now, even if she wasn't happy about it. She relaxed back in her chair, just thinking, when her mind wandered to Voldemort and what he was doing.

She sat up straighter as her thoughts continued to run along the line of Voldemort. He had been more active over the past year after being exposed, but nothing extreme had happened. It didn't look like he was trying to take the Ministry, even though many of his supporters were probably infiltrating it in secret and such. But Hogwarts. He had never tried to take Hogwarts in the last war. But he would see Hogwarts as the prime place to attack; attack there and have the children under control, which would force the rest of the population to do what he said, to protect those at Hogwarts. And what of he did attack Hogwarts? What then?

She glanced over to Remus who was talking quietly with Sirius about something, wondering if the teachers had an evacuation plan in case Voldemort did try to take Hogwarts while the students were there.

"Um, Remus. I was wondering something," she said. The two marauders looked over at her.

"Oh?" Remus asked. Ginny nodded.

"Do the teachers have an evacuation plan if Voldemort attacks Hogwarts during the term?" Ginny asked. Remus blinked.

"No, actually. I don't think any of us had even thought of having an evacuation plan."

"Why do you ask?" Sirius asked. 

"Well, I was just thinking. It doesn't look like he's trying to take the Ministry through force. And it would be easier for him to take the Ministry if everyone did what he asked to ensure the safety of the students. Which would mean taking Hogwarts."

"I really don't think any of the staff even considered anything like that even happening, since it didn't happen in the last war," Remus said, tilting his head slightly in thought. "Which really wasn't a good thing, since he could have attacked at any time last year, using that logic."

 **What about the DA? We both noticed that the way Remus was training them was in an army-like structure,** Harry suggested.

 **That's an idea. Get the DA to help evacuate the students to their common rooms, which I could probably lock down as Lady Gryffindor** , Ginny agreed. 

"What about the DA?" she suggested, "Harry and I noticed that the way you were training us was in an army-like structure. Change the training a bit, and make it more often, and help them get ready for a possible attack. They could help evacuate the students, probably to their common rooms. I think that I could lock down the common rooms after the students are in there, as Lady Gryffindor, but I would have to test it. And with the right training, the DA could at least help defend the school."

"That is an idea that we could look into. But I'm not sure how I feel about using children to help defend the school," Remus said slowly.

"The teachers would definitely be the main defenders, with the Order and aurors maybe, but it depends on how much warning we get before the attack. If there's no warning at all, the DA could at least defend the students as they evacuate." Ginny grabbed one of the pieces of parchment she had been using for notes during her lesson, using a cutting spell to separate her notes from the unused half and beginning to note down what they were thinking so they didn't forget their plans.

"It would be better to avoid having no idea about the attack, since a warning would make it easier to defend the school and keep the students safe. I think we could possibly set up an early warning system in Hogsmeade and the areas surrounding the school, make it so a warning is sent to the school if Death Eaters appear," Sirius suggested.

"And we could look into adding to the anti-apparition wards, to try and extend them. The larger the anti-apparition wards, the further away they'd have to appear for an attack, meaning there would be more time between the warning and the attack," Remus added, "and if we're looking into the wards, do you think your abilities as Lady Gryffindor will be able to help with the wards? To reinforce them?"

"I'm not sure. I don't actually know how far the abilities that the ring gives me go in regards to Hogwarts. I'd have to test it, and the test would have to be kept secret, since I don't want people finding out yet. Testing if I could lock down the common rooms is something that I could do at night when everyone should be in bed, but I'd rather not test anything with the wards in case I accidentally bring them down or mess them up in any other way, which would just give a bigger opening for Voldemort and his Death Eaters," she said slowly.

"Yeah, that makes sense. But if we can at least manage to extend the anti-apparition wards and set up a warning system in Hogsmeade and surrounding areas, it would at least give us the needed time to get the students to safety, which is the priority, and start securing the school. And try to send out an alert to the Order and the aurors that there's an attack coming."

"How many people are in the DA?" Sirius asked.

"About twenty, maybe twenty-five. There were more but they graduated last year," Remus said.

"Would they all be needed to help the students evacuate? I mean, only a couple would be needed to help make sure everyone gets to their common rooms. And then a few more to go through the school to make sure no one is still in the corridors. The rest, the ten or so that aren't looking for students or evacuating them, could set traps around the school. Traps that the teachers and DA would know about so won't activate, but the Death Eaters will. The traps could be mainly around the different entrances to the school and the surrounding corridors, and they could be used to help disable and incapacitate the Death Eaters nearby when they are activated," Sirius suggested after a moment of thought.

"That could work. And it would mean that more Death Eaters are taken down without injury to anyone defending the castle. And if there are traps being set up by the DA, there could be a trigger or triggers around the school for them to deliberately trip, to alert the aurors and the Order. Just something that will send a signal to the aurors or the Order that they will know is asking for help, that can by easily activated, but not activated by accident," Remus added.

"The signals would definitely need to be something that can't be activated easily, so that no one accidentally activated them," Ginny said.

"And the other teachers should probably be told about this. That way they don't panic when the DA suddenly take charge of the evacuation and so they don't get caught by the traps the others in the DA set up," Remus said.

"They could probably help with the traps. Get them to come to some of the DA sessions and help the DA with the traps, to help incorporate the different areas of magic to further disable to Death Eaters, maybe incapacitate them," Ginny suggested, "and while the DA are actually setting the traps, they could be adding more defences to the wards. I don't know if that's possible, but if they could further protect the school then the teachers could spend the time that the DA use to set the traps doing that." 

"They could definitely add more protections into the wards. And if Poppy knew of the plans, she would probably come to some of the sessions, to help them learn to heal themselves and others. In case the Death Eaters get in while they're still setting the traps," Sirius added.

"The only problem I can see is that once the DA help set up the traps, they won't want to go back to their common rooms and wait around, knowing there is a battle going on, especially when they've been training as much as they have," Ginny pointed 

"Then Poppy teaching them healing would be even more vital. And a few of them, the ones less inclined for battle, could learn more advanced healing from her, to help with larger injuries after the battle."

"I still don't like having students, children, defending the school," Remus pointed out.

"Most of the DA is either of age or will be of age in a year. You can't really stop those who are of age from defending the school, and you know most of the others are just stubborn. That's something that we'll probably need to consider as well, if the other of age students could help," Ginny said.

"That's true, I guess. And at least the DA will be trained," Remus said with a small sigh.

"You could up the amount of sessions they have as well, and separate what goes on in each, like we've done with these lessons. One session could be for working on their spell casting for the traps and planning where the traps will go. Another could be for learning healing from Poppy and the spells you already know. A third could be defence training, like you've already been doing during the sessions on the weekend. That way they're better prepared," Sirius suggested.

"And if you get passes for them, the sessions could run past curfew, meaning simulations or mock invasions could be run so they have practice getting to their assigned task, like evacuation or traps, and so those laying traps have practice doing them fast where they are needed. And if they insist on fighting, which they most likely will, you could also have them go through mock battles with dummies set up as the Death Eaters, and have them practice fighting with each other and to practice a plan of attack," Ginny said.

"I'd have to talk to the other teachers about all that, but, thinking about it, it should work. To at least push the Death Eaters back, or even fully defeat them," Remus said.

"So, the plan for if there is an attack, which we will be pre-warned about due to the warning system in Hogsmeade and surrounding areas, is for the DA to split up, half helping to evacuate the students to their common rooms while the other half lay traps around the main entrances and surrounding corridors to stop the Death Eaters. Meanwhile, the teachers would be adding to the wards, to reinforce them and add more protections and defences to them. Once the students are all in their common rooms, Ginny will lock them down; those who are of age will have been given the option to help or stay before the lock down. As the DA lay the traps, a few of them will activate signals around the school to alert the Order and the aurors to an attack on the school. And the DA will be able to help fight the Death Eaters because they are trained to work together and have run mock battles in the most likely places for the large fights to occur," Sirius said, summing everything up from the notes Ginny had written down.

"Pretty much, yeah," Remus agreed.

 **I had a thought Gin. I know you mentioned the common rooms earlier, but what about the Chamber? I mean, there is a door in each of the common rooms that lead to the stairs going down, and there's no blood stored there anymore. The Chamber is large enough for them all to be without being too close, there are heaps of books for those who get bored, and the Ravens and Snakes will at least be eager to be down there, since it's a place of legends. The Ravens because of the history and myths around the place, and the Snakes because it's Slytherin's place,** Harry suggested.

 **And it would be even more secure. I'd still lock down the common rooms, meaning no one could get in that way, and only Voldemort would be able to get in through the Parseltongue entrance, and Riddle was arrogant enough to think that no one else would be able to find it, since it took him five years, so wouldn’t think to look down there for the rest of the students,** Ginny added, catching on to his idea.

**Exactly.**

"Harry just suggested an even better place for the students to go. They could go to the Chamber of Secrets when they're evacuated. It's huge; there would be enough space for everyone to spread out to avoid conflict between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. There are heaps of books in case they get bored, and those books aren't boring. Plus, I know that at least two house elves can get down there to provide food and water, and probably other entertainment if it's needed," Ginny said.

"But how would they get down there? Harry said that it needed a Parselmouth the open. And I don't think having the whole school trying to get into the girl's bathroom to go down a slide into the Chamber is the best option," Sirius said, remembering the details from when Harry told them about his second year at Hogwarts. Ginny giggled slightly, shaking her head; she had kept forgetting to tell them about the Chamber and how much time she actually spent down there.

"There's actually in entrance in each of the common rooms, and they don't need Parseltongue to open. The doors are all hidden and are really hard to find unless you know they're there, and they are in places most people don't go to or use in each common room. The way it's designed actually makes me think that the Chamber was originally for evacuations, considering the size and access points," Ginny said, adding the last bit absently as she thought back to the design of the Chamber.

"That makes sense, and it does sound like a good plan. But how do you plan to get the students down there?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not entirely sure what can convince them, but I have an idea about the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins. The Ravenclaws would want to go down because of the historic value and the number of books down there, some of which are handwritten by Slytherin and a few of his descendants. The Slytherins I could convince simply because it's Slytherin's Chamber and I'm pretty sure every Slytherin wants to or at least wanted to find it at some stage while at school," Ginny said.

"That is very true. It does sound like it would work. All these plans sound like they would work," Remus said. Ginny grinned, before checking the time and cursing under her breath.

"And now I'm running late. I have to go; mum will have dinner ready really soon. Thank you for the lesson and for listening to our thoughts about defending Hogwarts," Ginny said, standing up.

"Bye Ginny, Harry," Sirius called as they left the room.

"See you in a few days," Remus added with a wave. Ginny waved back before hurrying to the floo, stepping through the fire and back into the Burrow.


	83. The DA

The first of September that year was a Friday, meaning that their first full day at the school was a Saturday. And Saturdays were when they had DA meetings. Remus had already spoken with the other teachers about the plans for defending the school at their start-of-year staff meeting, and had been given the go ahead by majority of the teachers; neither Binns or Trelawney had agreed but that didn't matter much. Remus stood at the front of the room as the DA members filed in to the room in small groups. The group wasn't a large one, numbering no more than twenty-five, but they were the best at defence in the school and were all dedicated to learning to defend themselves and others. The final few came in, the door snapping shut behind them.

"Right. This is something that I've talked to the other teachers about and they agree with me. You have all proven that you want to defend yourself and others, that you want to learn to fight, and I am going to help you with that. These sessions are going to increase, and other teachers are going to be coming to help as well. We are going to be teaching you not just how to duel and defend yourself, but how to fight and protect the castle. We will have sessions multiple times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Some of these sessions are going to be after curfew, when we run simulations of an attack on the school. Are there any questions?"

"What about Quidditch and homework for other classes?" Colin asked.

"I will speak to the Quidditch Captains and see if your practices can be scheduled in the mornings on the days we have sessions, and I expect you all to keep on top of your homework and class work. If you start to fall behind, I am happy to let you miss a session to get back on top of it."

"What are we going to be covering?" Michael asked.

"You will be learning how to survive in a full fight and how to fight in teams, defending each other and yourself. You will be learning how to set traps around the school that are designed to incapacitate invading Death Eaters and how to set off alarms through the school to alert the aurors of an attack. You will be taught healing spells by Madame Pomphrey so you can heal yourself during a battle to expand upon the few healing spells that you already know from the sessions last year, and some of you will learn advance healing to help with the more sever injuries. We will also be running simulations through the castle after curfew as I said, as mock battles of a Death Eater invasion. "

Everyone in the room exchanged looks, determined expressions on all of their faces. They had all become quite close during the sessions the previous year and each of their determination and courage only fuelled everyone else.

"When do we start?" Susan asked.

"Right now."

* * *

Ginny shot a curse at one of the dummies attacking them over Susan's head, twisting as she did so to avoid the curse that Susan had ducked. A second curse hit the dummy at the same time, Luna having sent a spell at the dummy as well. They continued to fight in their team of three, working together to target the dummies and defend each other, twisting and dodging around each other in semblance of a deadly dance; today's session was all about working together in a fight, like all their Monday sessions were.

Ginny twisted out of the way of a curse which hit the ground behind her. She heard a yell from Luna as the spell landed at her feet, making the ground explode and throw her backwards. Ginny threw up a strong shield to give Susan cover to help Luna to her feet and recover from the strong blast; she had hit the ground very hard and a quick glance behind her showed that Susan was helping her bind up her arm and secure it; Susan was the healer of their trio, while Ginny was the major power of offense and Luna was the main defender.

A hex flying over each of her shoulders told her that Luna still able to fight and that they were back in the battle, meaning she could drop half the power from the shield; the shield was very high power and with the amount of magic and concentration she was pumping into it, she couldn't do other spells, even with Harry's help; everyone in the DA knew that she could fight with two wands; they had been let in on the secret at the start of the year since every advantage would be needed if a battle did occur at Hogwarts. About 5 minutes later Susan was able to down the final dummy that they were battling, leaving them standing victorious over the 5 dummies they had been fighting, which were at the level of Death Eaters.

"Good job girls," Remus said, having weaved his way to them past the other battles that were happening in the room; every group of three or four were doing their own battle against Death Eater dummies behind their own set of wards. They nodded to him, panting from the exertion, Susan and Luna more so than Ginny. He handed them each a Pepper-up, watching over them carefully as they healed themselves and helped heal each other, aiding them with their few larger injuries that they hadn't learnt to heal yet. Once he made sure that they were all healed and recovered, he set up the dummies again, adding another dummy to the mix as well, before stepping out of the wards and letting them go again.

* * *

Ron studied the Marauder's Map, ignoring the names of the people in the castle and only focusing on the layout of the corridors and the structure of the castle. He ran his finger over the few corridors surrounding the entrance hall, muttering under his breath as he worked out the best places to lay the traps that the others were learning and practising; as the best at strategy, Remus had put him in charge of working out how the Death Eaters could appear and the best ways to prevent that.

"What are you thinking Ron?" Remus asked, appearing next to him like he often did; Remus tended to just appear when he was needed.

"The most obvious place for them to enter is the entrance hall, and there is a 70% chance that that will be where they come in from. If they enter from anywhere on the grounds, they would head there. Layer the steps up to the hall in tripping jinxes and other traps, lower their numbers before they even get into the castle. Cover the entrance hall in traps and set some up in the first few metres of these corridors in case they try to get out of the entrance hall with one or two people in each corridor to help the traps," Ron said, pointing to the corridors that he meant.

"We layer these stairs," he pointed to the various staircases that led away from the entrance hall, "in more tripping jinxes and other traps that would stop them getting to the second floor, while having some of the DA, probably the younger ones and the ones who don't do well up close in a fight, at the top of them to have a vantage point and keep them out of the direct fighting. They could also have some potions on them that they could throw down at the Death Eaters to further incapacitate them. There are many things in the entrance hall that provide shadows and places to hide, we have others stationed in there to take down the Death Eaters without being seen, and they would be able to dart around and help heal the others fighting in the entrance hall."

"What about if they don't come in through the entrance hall?" Remus asked. Ron nodded, frowning slightly.

"We both know that there are many secret passages into and out of the castle. We completely cover them in traps and seal them up where they come out. That would prevent them being able to exit from the passage and make it into the castle. That takes care of the 15% chance of them coming in from a secret passage and would mean that they either retreat before the battle starts, or they have to retrace their steps and come in from another way, which would lead them to coming in through the entrance hall in lesser numbers, since many of them would fall to the traps," Ron explained.

"And what about the last 5%?"

"That is the route that I hope they don't take. There is a 5% chance that they will come in some other obscure way, in a means that I haven't worked out, from an entrance that isn't on the Mao and that none of us know about, or in some other plan that we would never anticipate. If they do that, they would have a head start on us, since we wouldn't be able to layer the whole castle in traps, and we wouldn't have anyone nearby to delay them and alert the others of where they are, or possibly even be aware that they're entering the castle."

"Good work Ron. We would be able to have the map with us to monitor how far away theDeath Eaters are, so if they do find another way in then we would see them coming and could send people after them. Make some notes of where you think the traps should go to pass on to everyone who are responsible for setting the traps," Remus instructed. Ron nodded and grabbed a spare piece of parchment and a quill, beginning to note down the plans that he had made.

* * *

Ginny crouched down on the stairs that led up to the entrance hall, meticulously carving a short rune chain into the steps. Around her, Neville, Luna, Michael, Justin, Zacharias, and Dennis were at various places around the staircase, carving the same, or similar, rune chains into the stairs. Professor Babbling was supervising them as they carved the runes, having provided them with the rune chains that they were carving to set the traps and had spent the last few hours practising on parchment.

She finished the chain she was doing and moved half a meter to the side, starting to carve the same rune chain again. These runes were the first set of traps they were setting throughout the school, since runes were hard to carve when you were in a hurry or stressed since they had to be so precise; they would be both if they were notified of an impending Death Eater attack. 

The runes chains they were carving into the stairs would cause the Death Eaters who stepped on them to trip and fall back down the stairs, be surrounded in ropes that would tighten the more they tried to get out of them, or have their robes set on fire; the fire runes were actually Parsel runes that Harry had found in the Chamber a while ago and they had tested them before bringing to Professor Babbling, and since they were Parsel runes, they would create Parsel fire, meaning the Death Eaters would struggle to extinguish them; the only difference from Parsel runes and the other runes they studied was that they were a lot more curved and much more like the Elven runes than the runes from human languages, meaning anyone could carve them with practise, even if only a Parselmouth could read them easily.

They were carving the runes about half a meter apart in a way that no rune would be directly below another and on each step, with each step having a different set of chains. The way they were doing it, meant that someone who activated one of the tripping chains would be made to fall backwards, into someone behind them who had been set on fire, or to fall onto someone who had just been tied up, making other Death Eaters fall on or ever the pile up.

Once everyone was finished with their runes, they headed back inside to carve similar rune chains around the entrance hall and the surrounding corridors in the places that Ron had already marked, confident that they wouldn't be seen by other students since it was after curfew and the fact that Ginny had sealed the common rooms that night as a test to see if she actually could; they needed to know before they started running mock invasions.

* * *

While the group was working to carve runes around the castle, another group of the DA were in a potions lab. Professor Snape was walking around them in a much different manner than he did in class, no longer sweeping around in a malevolent way. He was in charge of supervising Ernie, Michael, Terry, Padma, and Hermione, the only ones in the DA who had gotten into NEWT potions and so were at a level to make all the needed potions. They were all currently working on different potions that the DA would all be equipped with to carry on them at all times.

Hermione glanced down at the instructions for pepper-up, the potion she was working on at the time, double checking the temperature that she had to add the salamander blood at, before slowly dripping the seven drops of blood in, each drop followed by three counter-clockwise stirs. She had already made two lots of pepper-up before hand, but still liked to double-check the instructions as she went. The phials that she had already filled were sitting in a phial tray, just waiting on the batch that she was making now to complete the set that would provide each member of the DA with two phials.

Ernie stirred the potion that he was making six times clockwise and once counterclockwise before sprinkling in the needed powder from ground unicorn hair and increasing the heat slightly to allow the potion to simmer for five minutes. He checked back over the instruction for the blood replenisher that he was making. He nodded to himself and started to dice the bats spleen that he had to add next. Like Hermione, this was the third time he was making this particular potion that day to finish the collection of blood replenishing potions that would provide each DA member with two. More would be made so they all had back-ups, of course, but they would all have at least two.

Terry added three drops of essence of dittany to the mortar and pestle that held the bone powder he had just finished crushing. He mixed the small amount of liquid with the powder, before allowing it to drop into the potion that had been simmer for the last fifteen minutes to slowly change from green to pale blue. Adding the bone and dittany mixture and stirring twice clockwise and once counter clockwise, caused the potion to become bone white. He then turned the heat up, to allow the Skelegrow that he was making to come to the boil. Each person in the DA would be getting a phial of Skelegrow in case they really needed to mend a bone that they had broken and put in a splint or brace.

Michael was currently working on his fourth cauldron of the same potion, while also watching the other three as they set and brewed. He was making swelling solution, which had to be allowed to brew for an hour before it was done but would be very useful for those positioned on the first floor, since the Death Eaters were very unlikely to carry deflating draught with them and was one of the many defensive and offensive potions that the DA were going to be equipped with.

Padma lowered the heat on the cauldron of burn-healing paste that she was making before adding finely sliced dragon liver and bringing the heat up rapidly to take the potion to a simmer. It was the second cauldron of burn-healing paste that she was working on and once she had finished this one there would be enough for each member to have a phial, with the few designated as healers having a second.

They all knew that there were many more potions that they were going to make, since the five they were working on weren't everything that was planned for the potions belt that each DA member would have on them at all times during the day, but they would get through all the needed potions, since they worked from dinner until two hours after curfew on Fridays.

* * *

In another part of the castle, up in the hospital wing, Madame Pomphrey was showing Hannah, Susan, Parvati, Lavender, Colin, Ron, Dean, and Seamus some advanced methods of healing. They were working on a spell to fix bones that were broken but not broken bad enough to need Skelegrow, having already learnt and mastered a spell to close deep wounds and stem bleeding that night. It was a more complicated version of the simple fracture healer, which everyone in the DA already knew. Even though it was a tricky spell, most of them were getting them hang of it; they had to be careful while learning it though, since healing spells could be dangerous if done wrong, such as vanishing the bones instead of healing them.

Once they had all gotten it successfully many times in a row, Madame Pomphrey brought out the trainee dummies for them to practise on. Each dummy had many different bones that were broken, and she had each of them quickly work out how bad each break was, and which spell was needed to fix them, or if they were bad enough to need Skelegrow. When she was confident that they had all mastered the spell and how to identify how bad a break was, she sent them off to bed, letting them sneak out with a curfew pass and make it back to their dorms.

* * *

Ron stood at the front of the room; the rest of the DA spread out through the room facing him. 

"Alright, tonight we're running a mock invasion. Collin, Dennis, Terry, Padma, Zacharias, Parvati, and Lavender, I want you positioned at the top of the stairs. Use your vantage point to attack the Death Eater dummies from above where they won't be expecting an attack to come from. You seven have extra offensive potions, use those to create confusion with the Death Eater dummies below you.

"Hannah, Justin, Anthony, Seamus, I want you to be manning the two corridors that lead off from the hall. You'll be stationed at the end of the corridors that lead into the entrance hall in pairs, and you can pick off any Death Eater dummy that gets close, but your main focus is to not allow any Death Eater dummy to get past you.

"Dean, Michael, Ernie, Susan, Luna, Ginny, Neville, Hermione, and I are in the entrance hall. Spread out and work in your groups. Stay in the shadows and use the environment to your advantage. Take out the Death Eater dummies at all costs, but that doesn't mean sacrificing one of your team to do so.

"You all have your potions belts, use potions as you need to stay in the fight. The Death Eater dummies won't be using Unforgivable curses or other spells that would immediately kill, but that doesn't mean they are less of a threat, and they will be using stunners that are green; they are meant to mimic the killing curse and if you are hit with one, no one will revive you. Silence the Death Eater dummies if you can. Many people, Death Eaters included, struggle with non-verbal spells and there are spells that are reduced in power if the incantation isn't said. Try and stay out of the range of fire and don't let them know you're there until too late," Ron instructed, easily taking on his role of strategist and commander. Everyone nodded, knowing and acknowledging their roles. They left the room they were in, every one of them placing localised silencing spells around their feet, making their footsteps impossible to hear. 

As they moved, Ginny tapped her Gryffindor ring right on the crest, before placing the crest against the wall of the castle. She had already experimented with locking down the castle during their other after-curfew sessions, with aid from Hogwarts herself, and found that that was how she had to do it. Until she released the lock down, the common rooms would be unable to be opened.

They reached the entrance hall and immediately split up to their assigned places around the hall. They had to wait for barely a minute before the first Death Eater dummies entered the hall, spells firing. The DA attacked, firing spells from the shadows that they were concealed in, spells flying from all around; from the corridors; from the wall; from the traps on the floors; and from above.

The students worked in the teams they had trained in, defending each other, and moving around each other in sync to dodge spells and deliver their own. All around, Death Eater dummies fell, from the spells and potions, and from the traps they were setting off. The students in the DA weren't without injury though, with many of them being dealt injuries in many forms. There were healers in each group however, and the injuries were dealt with while another defended both the injured and the healer.

A few of them fell to normal stunners and were revived, while the very few that were hit with the green stunners were left stunned and moved out of the way so they didn't get injured any further, as they knew that it showed they would have died; they all knew that there were risks and that there could, and would, be casualties; they just had to do their best to improve, to reduce the number that fell, and keep fighting.

Eventually, all the Death Eater dummies fell, either harmed in a way that would kill someone, or simply unable to return to the battle. Everyone started to heal themselves with the healing spells they knew, while the healers moved amongst everyone once they themselves were healed, helping with the bigger injuries. They moved those who had fallen to green stunners to the middle of the hall, to see who they would have had to mourn if it had been a real battle, and revived them, before fixing the damage that had been done to the hall.

Remus appeared, having watched the battle to see where they could improve, and gave them his assessments, before having Ginny lift the lockdown and sending them to bed.

* * *

Hermione and Ginny crouched near one walls of the entrance hall, drawing an array of runes onto the stone in a grey ink that was hard to see against the stone. They were working together to create a one-way shielding ward around the walls, so that the DA were better protected while they attacked from the shadows. As soon as they finished the runes, the shield would be active, drawing on the large amount of latent magic in the air of Hogwarts, rather than needing someone to power the shield.

Across the hall, Luna and Neville were doing the same thing, putting the same array of runes to create the wards around the wall. Up at the top of the staircases, the same thing was being done by Dennis, Anthony, Justin, and Zacharias. Normally, Hermione would be working on potions while they worked on the runes around the castle, but they had enough potions that she was able to switch groups for the night without major consequences, which meant they had an even number to carve the runes for the shielding wards they were constructing; it was a good thing since the wards had a lot of runes. 

They were constructing the one-way shielding wards to help the DA stay protected while battling the Death Eaters. They had found that too many of them spent too much time shielding that they couldn't attack much, or that their magic was drained by holding up a shield while fighting. The wards would take that away, meaning that they would be better protected from most spells, even if many dark spells that the Death Eaters used wouldn't be stopped by it; the shields they used now wouldn't have stopped those either anyway.

* * *

"What are the other students going to do if the Death Eaters attack?" Susan asked during a Saturday meeting the second week of October.

"We'll evacuate them. A few of you will lead them to their dormitories, while the rest set up the few last-minute traps that can't be set until the day of the battle and the aurors are alerted," Remus explained. 

"Where are they going? Just the common rooms?" Padma asked.

"They will initially be taken to their common rooms, but from there, they will be taken to another secure place, where they will be in no threat from invading Death Eaters, and where they won't be able to here the battle," Remus explained.

"Where?" Hermione asked.

"There is a Chamber under the school, which is large enough to house everyone, with enough room that rivalries won't matter. It can be accessed through a door in each common room that leads to a staircase descending to the Chamber. I can show you all now if you want?" Ginny offered, since taking them to the Chamber had been her idea, well, it was really Harry's idea, but it accounted to the same thing. They had basically finished their session for the day anyway. Many people nodded or murmured their agreement to such a plan.

"If you all head back to your common rooms, I'll get you through the attached doors." Everyone left the room, heading back to their common rooms like Ginny had suggested. Ginny was the last to leave the room and found the Gryffindors in the DA waiting impatiently for her.

"Boys, if you will head up the stairs to your dorms and keep going up to the top of the stairs. Girls, we do the same." A few people raised their eyebrows but did as she instructed and seemed shocked when they reached the room at the top of the tower. Ginny smirked at their reactions before leading them to the door and opening it.

"If you will proceed through this door and down the stairs. I'll collect the others and meet you at the bottom. Ignore the other doors and just head to the bottom. Please don't wander, the Chamber is pretty large and there are many things down there that are very rare or expensive." Ron went first, closely followed by Hermione, and then the other Gryffindor DA members. Ginny went last, closing the door behind her and heading down the stairs.

She stopped when she reached the next door down and stepped through into the library under the Ravenclaw common room. She headed up the staircase that led out of the library on the other side of the room and stopped at the top of the stairs.

"Luna, Padma, Terry, Michael, Anthony," Ginny called, gaining their attention.

"How did you get here?" Anthony asked.

"Through the entrance to the Chamber that's in the library under your common room. Come on," she called, heading back down the stairs. The Ravenclaws followed her, looking around the library in awe and shock.

"I had no clue that this was even here," Padma said.

"You can investigate later. And there's another library down in the Chamber that you can borrow a few books from if you want," Ginny offered, opening the door that led down to the Chamber. 

"If you will proceed through this door and down the stairs. I'll collect the Hufflepuffs, since the Gryffindors are already down there, and meet you at the bottom. Ignore the other doors and just head to the bottom. Please don't wander, the Chamber is pretty large and there are many things down there that are very rare or expensive," she said, basically repeating what she had told the Gryffindors. They all nodded and headed down the stairs, Ginny following them and closing the door behind her.

She continued down behind them until she reached the next door, the door that led to a side room in the Hufflepuff common room. She pushed the door open and stepped through, making her way through the isolated room that had many comfortable looking chairs. She stopped in the doorway and called out to the DA Hufflepuffs, gaining their attention and getting them to follow her into the room that was off the common room. She pointed to the door that she had left open.

"If you will proceed through this door and down the stairs. I've already collected the others and they are waiting at the bottom. Ignore the other door and just head to the bottom. Please don't wander when you get there and just wait for me, the Chamber is pretty large and there are many things down there that are very rare or expensive."

She followed the Hufflepuffs through the door, closing it behind her and heading straight down to the Chamber. She ignored the fourth door, knowing that it led to a room in the Slytherin common room; there was no Slytherins in the DA so there was no point using the door today. She found the rest of the DA waiting at the bottom of the stairs like she had asked, all of them looking around in awe and shock.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked.

"In the ritual area of the Chamber. This isn't the main part of the Chamber though. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the main area, which is larger than the main hall and has a study and library leading off it, as well as a bathroom that is off a small bedroom." The Ravenclaws and Hermione seemed very excited about the library, so Ginny quickly led them to the main Chamber.

"The door over there leads to the study, through which you can reach the library. You can borrow a few books, but they are extremely old so please be careful with them. What do you think about the place? Do you think it will work for a place to evacuate the student to?" she explained to the group that was looking around in interest. 

"It looks like it would work well. We have to be miles under the school, so not even sounds of battle will reach them," Hermione said, looking like she was itching to get her hands on the books in the library but didn't want to just run off.

 **That's basically what Ron said when we first came down here** , Harry commented.

 **Wonder if he will pick it up** , Ginny replied. Ron didn't seem to have heard Hermione's second comment though and was instead looking over at the statue at the end of the Chamber.

"Ginny, who's that statue of?" Ron asked, pointing at the statue and drawing everyone else's attention to it.

"Oh, that's Salazar Slytherin. We're in his Chamber of Secrets," Ginny replied calmly, ignoring the shocked silence that had occurred at her casual comment, "I figured it's as good a place as any to evacuate to."

It took a while, but the rest of the DA eventually came around from their shock and started to explore, with a few of them heading directly to the library, all of them agreeing that it was a good place to evacuate to in case of the attack that they were preparing for.


	84. Warning

Ginny sat quietly as she ate, listening to all the conversations going on around her. It was the Halloween feast, and everyone was in the mood to simply relax and enjoy the celebrations; an escape from the harsh reality of what was going on outside of the castle. Even the teachers seemed to have relaxed more than they had during the term so far, many of them indulging in a single serve of alcohol, many of them much more relaxed this year now that Umbridge had been forced to leave; her contract as High Inquisitor had only been good for a year, something everyone was thankful for.

The dessert had just appeared on the table when a silver mist appeared in the hall, solidifying into the shape of a lynx. It didn't say anything, simply appearing solid in the middle of the hall for about half a minute, nodding to the Head table before fading away. To majority of the hall, the appearance of a Patronus was just cool, since not many of them had actually seen a Patronus, or nothing to worry about. To the DA and the members of staff however, the Patronus was a sign. A sign that they had been preparing for, but one they didn't want to ever see. The Death Eaters were coming.

The DA all started to assess themselves, checking that they had their potions and other distractions on their belts, and that their wands were in easy to access places on their bodies; the check was unnecessary, since they always had their belts fully stocked and their wands on them, but it made them feel more secure in the knowledge that they were as prepared as they could be for what was going to occur that night. A few people noticed what the DA were doing, shooting them questioning looks, looks that no one answered, but their attention was quickly drawn back to the head of the hall as Dumbledore stood.

"Prefects, please lead your houses back to your common rooms. The school has to undergo a security check, as that Patronus was letting us know that there has been a fault found in the wards. This is nothing to worry about but requires you to head back to your common rooms for the remainder of the night and possibly through to late afternoon tomorrow, depending on how long the security check takes," he said, following the already prepared excuse for the evacuation; an excuse that made it that much easier to get the students to move again, since it was easy to say that the common rooms had to be checked as well.

The prefects immediately started ordering the houses and leading them back to their common rooms. Most of the DA were the only students who didn't go to their common rooms, with two from each of the houses represented going with them to show them where to go, the rest splitting off from the large groups to go where they were needed to set the last traps and to activate the signals to alert the aurors and the Order.

Dean and Parvati were at the front of the Gryffindor group, Susan and Ernie going with the Hufflepuffs. Padma and Terry caught up with the Ravenclaws, while Ginny ran ahead so she could get up to Gryffindor, down the stairs and get to the Slytherin common room to get the Slytherins into the Chamber, since that would be quicker than going down to the Chamber and back up the stairs to the Slytherin door.

Ginny quickly climbed the stairs in Gryffindor tower before taking the stairs that led down to the Chamber two at a time, quickly reaching the fourth door down. She stepped into the side room off the Slytherin common room, leaving it to step into the actual common room, just in time for the first few Slytherins to step through the wall that led in from the corridor outside. The Slytherins stared at her, grouping together more as the rest of the house entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" one of the Slytherins from her year asked.

"I'm here to get you all to a safe place while the security check takes place. The check will have to go through the House accommodations as well, just in case, so there is another place that everyone is being relocated to. Those who are of age may stay back and ask a few questions after everyone has gone through, but for now if you will follow me," she said, stepping towards the side room.

"Why should we follow you?" Malfoy demanded.

"As I just said, I can lead you to a safe place. But by all means, feel free not to follow me and to stay here while the other three houses stay in the Chamber of Secrets; it's your loss," she replied with a shrug. As soon as she mentioned the Chamber, many of the Slytherins perked up and started to follow her, just like both her and Harry had thought they would. She pointed them to the door that led down to the Chamber and stood aside as they all filed through, many of those who were of age not waiting to ask questions and just going down as well. Only two girls remained behind, watching her curiously.

"What's going on? It can't just be a security check. The teachers seemed too stressed by the Patronus for it to be something like that," the blonde girl, who Harry vaguely remembered was Greengrass, asked.

"That Patronus was an early warning signal that means the Death Eaters are coming to attack the school. We've been preparing in case something like this happens for months. It was also agreed that those who are of age be given the chance to fight, since they are legally adults so can make their own decisions. If you want to fight, head back to the Great Hall and if you don't, follow the rest of your house down to the Chamber. No one will fault you if you don't want to fight, we only ask that you don't tell anyone else what is happening up here, as we don't want to cause panic," Ginny explained. The two girls moved away slightly, having a whispered conversation, before they nodded at her.

"We want to fight," the other girl said, Harry recognizing her as a girl named Davis.

"Back up to the Great Hall then," Ginny said, allowing the two Slytherins to lead the way out of the common room and the dungeons. She was fine leaving everyone in the Chamber, since she had already warded many of the things down there to protect them, such as the supplies in the ritual area, and she had house elves ready to assist down there, such as providing things that are needed such as food, and to also prevent any large conflicts.

* * *

Dean and Parvati reached the common room, making sure that everyone was in, before calling attention to themselves.

"There has been a change of plans and you are all being relocated to another place in the school while the security check occurs, since the common rooms have to be checked as well. If you follow us, we can take you to the new Chamber that you are all going to be staying in," Dean said, making sure not to mention the Chamber of Secrets, since it held bad memories for many, and others would refuse simply because it was something Slytherin.

"Girls follow me, boys follow Dean," Parvati instructed, starting up the stairs to the girl's dormitories as Dean took a step up the boy's as well. They both led the rest of the Gryffindors up the stairs and into the room at the top of the tower, directing them through the door that Ginny had left open.

"Please head down the stairs in an orderly fashion. The other houses are using the same set of stairs but from a different access point," Parvati said.

"Those who are of age may remain behind for a more thorough briefing of what is about to occur, Dean added as the Gryffindors began to file down the stairs. Only two people remained behind, two sixth year girls, Romilda and Demelza; most of the Gryffindors who were of age were in the DA already, while the rest of the sixth years weren't yet of age.

"What we aren't telling the rest of the school is that the Patronus was an early warning system of an attack on the castle by Death Eaters. Since you are legally adults, we are giving you the option to stay and help fight, or to go down to the Chamber with the rest of the students. If you decide to not fight, no one will think any less of you," Parvati said.

"I want to help," Demelza said with a nod while Romilda shook her head.

"Fighting's not for me. I'd probably get in the way."

"That's fine, you can follow the rest of Gryffindors down to the Chamber. We only ask that you don't tell anyone else what is going on, since we don't want to cause panic," Dean requested. Romilda nodded before heading through the door and down the stairs, leaving Dean, Parvati, and Demelza alone in the tower. Dean shut the door before turning to leave.

"Come on, back to the Great Hall."

* * *

Susan checked to make sure that the last of the Hufflepuffs had entered before giving Ernie a nod. He quickly called everyone's attention to himself.

"There is a slight change in plans from what the Headmaster said. The security check also requires the common rooms and dormitories to be checked, meaning we are relocating to a different location along with the rest of the houses. There are stairs leading down to a secure Chamber just through there," Ernie said, pointing at the door that led to the side room. The Hufflepuffs headed through the door and Susan directed them down the stairs, year level by year level. She stopped the sixth and seventh years before they could go down.

"Any of you who are of age are allowed to stay behind for a moment for more details regarding what is happening," Susan said. Most of the sixth years nodded before leaving through the door, leaving their two remaining year mates, Wayne, and Megan, and a sixth year they knew was called Jack.

"Those who are of age are allowed to stay as you are legally adults, so you are able to make this decision for yourself. The Death Eaters are coming to attack the castle and the Patronus that you saw in the Great Hall was an early warning system put in place in case something like this ever occurred," Susan said.

"If you want to fight, we are heading back to the Great Hall. If you don't, and no one will think any less of you if you don't, then follow the rest of the house down to the Chamber. We only ask that you don't tell anyone what is actually happening, so we can avoid mass panic," Ernie added. Jack and Megan immediately turned and headed down the stairs. Wayne thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"I don't think I could," he said.

"That's fine. We know that not everyone is a fighter," Susan assured him before he headed down the stairs, leaving her to close the door behind him before her and Ernie headed back to the Great Hall.

* * *

Padma and Terry were the last of the Ravenclaws to reach the common room. They managed to be heard over the talking of their housemates, calling the attention of all of Ravenclaw to them and quieting the room.

"There has been a change of plans and we are being moved to a different place for the night. The security check needs to sweep the common rooms as well, so there is an alternative place that everyone is heading to. If you will follow Terry, the Chamber we are going to has an access point in the room below us," Padma said. Terry headed over to the short set of stairs that led to the Ravenclaw library, the rest of the house following in an orderly fashion.

"This door leads to a set of stairs that will take you down to the Chamber. Those who are of age please remain behind for a moment," Terry said, opening the door.

"There is a small library down there as well, full of rare books, many of them written by the founders and their families. And you can utilize this library later," he added when he saw many hesitate, looking at the shelves the lined the walls. The Ravens nodded and began to file down the stairs, the seventh years and few sixth years who had had their seventeenth birthdays stepping to the side so that they were out of the way. Once everyone was through, Padma addressed the small group that were of age, which consisted of three seventh years and two sixth years.

"Since you are of age, the teachers have decided that you are to know what is going on. The Patronus that we all saw in the hall was an early warning that the Death Eaters are coming to attack Hogwarts. As we speak, the teachers are doing their best to add protections to the wards and the aurors are being alerted. Since you are of age, you are legally allowed to make your own decisions about this, and we are giving you the option to fight or to go down to the Chamber with the rest of the school."

"If you want to help fight, we are heading back to the Great Hall soon. If you decide that fighting isn't for you, something that no one will judge you for, then the Chamber is the safest place for you right now. If you do decide to head down with the rest of the school, we only ask that you don't tell anyone else what is happening in the main area of the school. We don't want to cause panic," Terry added.

"I'll help," Sue said.

"So will I," Lisa agreed.

"No. I can't," Mandy decided, shaking her head quickly side to side.

"I don't want to fight," Jason said. Amanda hadn't replied, instead heading quickly down the stairs as soon as they finished talking.

"That's totally fine. The Chamber is secure and deep under the school; you won't even be able to hear what is going on. Someone will come let you know that everything is safe when the battle is over. Until then, house elves will be keeping everyone supplied and can provide information if asked," Terry said. Jason and Mandy nodded and followed Amanda down the stairs, leaving Padma to close the door behind them.

"Right, back to the Great Hall."

* * *

As everyone left the Great Hall, the DA split up to where they already knew they needed to go. Collin, Dennis, Lavender, Anthony, Justin, and Zacharias all split up around the castle, heading to the passages they had been assigned to set traps in and around. Neville, Seamus, Michael, Hannah, Luna, and Hermione headed to the entrance hall to lay more traps.

Collin and Dennis headed to the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor. Once there, they set trap after trap around the exit of the tunnel in case the Death Eaters managed to unseal the tunnel that had been blocked. As they headed back to the Great Hall, they set more traps through the halls behind them, just in case.

Lavender and Anthony ran through the castle to the secret passage behind Gregory the Smarmy. They shot spell after spell at the statue and the surrounding area, making it almost impossible to leave the room that the statue was in. They knew that the passage had been blocked, but also knew that the Death Eaters may be able to break through it. Heading back to the Great Hall, the covered the halls they passed through in more traps.

Justin and Zacharias headed to one of the entrances to the dungeons, where the secret passage was hidden by a fake wall, the passage leading to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. They covered the wall where the passage opened in hexes and jinxes along with other traps to stop the passage opening and the stop anyone coming through the passageway. They then layered the ground in more traps, making it almost impossible to step anywhere on the ground in the corridor without being harmed in some way. On the way back to the Great Hall, they continued layering the ground in traps.

Those in the entrance hall split up around the large area. They then all turned their wands towards the roof of the entrance hall, simultaneously sending a stunner at the roof, activating the alarm for the aurors and the Order. They then turned their attention to laying more and more traps on the ground and some on the walls, the new traps joining the few runes that were already carved or written on the stone floor, to be activated by being stepped on; the teachers and DA all knew where the runes and other spells were being set so they could avoid them.

Hermione, Luna, and Neville headed to the steps that led to the entrance hall, setting jinxes and hexes on the steps between the runes and on the rails along the stairs, and disabling the protection spells over the runes that prevented them being activated by anyone, since they didn't want any student to accidentally activate any of them. Once the traps on the stairs were set, the three of them stepped back into the entrance hall, being careful to walk along the walls where there wasn't any traps, heading back to the Great Hall for final briefing.

While the rest of the DA were setting traps around the school, Ron was studying the Marauder's Map. Ginny had given it to him, and he had kept it on him at all times. He was watching the corridors of the map, watching as the dots of the students arrived in their common rooms before vanishing off the maps, heading down to the Chamber which wasn't on the map.

He continued watching the map as the dots that were around the school started heading back to the Great Hall from the four common rooms and the three passages that led off the school grounds. He continued scanning the map, to make sure that there wasn't any other students still in the halls in case anyone had decided to not attend the feast. Luckily, the halls were empty apart from the few coming back to the Great Hall.

* * *

As soon as the students were out of the hall, the teachers moved to the windows around the hall, sending spell after spell towards the wards of the castle, fortifying the wards and adding as many protections as they could. Hexes and jinxes were added to the wards, defensive and offensive spells joining them in an effort to protect the school.

McGonagall turned to away from the window after adding all the protections she knew. She raised her wand, brining it down in a sweeping motion.

"Piertotum locomotor," she called, "Hogwarts is threatened. Man the boundaries. Protect us. Do your duty to our school." All around the castle the suits of armor seemed to snap to life, marching their way through the school to the entrance hall. They continued to march through the entrance hall and down the front steps, not setting off any of the traps purely because they weren't human, let alone alive, until they were spread out in front of the castle, all in protective positions.

* * *

Ginny reached the Great Hall again, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis right behind her. Ernie and Susan were already back from their common room, with no one else from their house, as were Parvati and Dean, Demelza with them. Ginny turned to see Padma and Terry arrive back from their tower, followed by Sue Li and Lisa Turpin. Not even a minute later did both Dennis and Colin arrive back from the third floor, Lavender and Anthony not far behind from the fourth. A minute later, Zacharias and Justin arrived back from the dungeons with a nod.

The whole DA gathered in a group off to the side in the Great Hall, the teachers and the other students standing a little way away. Ginny knew that the teachers were explaining things to the five others who were of age and decided to fight. She turned her attention to Ron, who was still watching the Marauder's map.   
"What's the situation?" she asked. 

"All students either here or in the Chamber, no one is on the map anywhere except the Great Hall," Ron replied, refolding the map so that he could better watch the grounds. Ginny nodded, moving to the side of the hall, drawing her wand as she did so. She tapped the crest of her Gryffindor ring before placing the crest of the wall. She watched as an almost transparent sheen of magic rushed from her ring through the wall before separating into four parts and shooting off in different directions.

"Common rooms are locked down," she said, the rest of the DA nodding; she had told them of her status when they first started with their advanced training so everyone could better understand the full plan.

"Entrance hall is covered in traps," Seamus said.

"The front steps are as well," Neville added.

"Gregory the Smarmy is covered, as well as the corridors around it," Anthony said.

"The one-eyes witch and surrounding corridors are done," Colin said.

"The dungeon wall, surrounding floor and other corridors are completely covered," Justin said.

"The aurors have been alerted," Michael added.

"So now all we have to do is wait. Everyone has a fully stocked potions kit?" Ron asked, gaining nods from everyone.

"Make sure you remember to use the energy boosters and pepper-ups before you really need them, we don't want any of you collapsing from exhaustion or magical fatigue," Hermione said, everyone again nodding in agreement.

"I'll let the teachers know," Ginny said, stepping away from the group. She headed towards the students, automatically heading to Remus over the other teachers.

"The students are all evacuated, the common rooms locked down, the passage ways are covered, the traps have been set, the aurors and Order have been alerted, and everyone has a fully stocked set," she said once she stopped next to Remus. Remus was about to reply when multiple pulses of magic arrived, one depositing the Order members in the hall, the others dropping the aurors in; Dumbledore had provided them portkeys at the start of the year, as only the Headmaster could make a portkey that arrived anywhere on the Hogwarts grounds. Remus spared a quick look over at the aurors and the Order, all who were picking themselves up, before turning back to Ginny.

"That's good. Make sure everyone knows where they are needed. We're going to stay in here and try to relax until either the wards fall or Ron spots someone on the map." Ginny nodded and headed back to the group to relay Remus message.

They group all sat down at the Hufflepuff table, the table closest to them. Ron had the map spread open on the table in front of him, many of those around him taking to watching it as well as something to do. Lots of them were occasionally glancing over at the aurors and Order who had just arrived and were milling about with the teachers, and who were not even paying any attention to the students who were still in the hall. Now, it was a waiting game.


	85. Attack

Everyone was in the Great Hall, sitting around and waiting, most of them on edge and jumpy. Most of the DA were watching the Marauder's Map with Ron, wanting to do something that related to what was about to happen. They half wished that it had taken longer to prepare the castle, since it would have meant they weren't sitting around and waiting, but they knew that having it done fast was better; they had no idea how long it would take before the Death Eaters brought the wards down or found some other way into the castle.

Ginny tensed slightly as she felt the wards around the castle come under fire. Since she had started using her abilities as Lady Gryffindor more, she had become more in tune with the castle and the wards. She turned her head slightly, looking towards Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were both connected to the wards as well because of their roles as Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, and noticed that they had both seemed to tense just a little bit as well.

 **How long do you think?** Ginny asked.

 **It depends on if they have ward breakers. I'd say about 20 minutes without a ward breaker, maybe 10 or even 5 if they do have a ward breaker,** Harry said thoughtfully.

 **Yeah, that sounds about right. And it depends on how many ward breakers they have,** Ginny said, a sigh escaping her, **does it sound bad to want the wards to come down quicker so that the waiting is over?**

**Not really. The waiting is the worst part.**

About seven minutes later, Ginny tensed again, feeling the wards around the castle start to flicker. She knew they would be coming down soon; they must have had a ward breaker for it to have happened so fast. She didn't bother to look at Dumbledore and McGonagall, knowing they had to have noticed the same thing, and instead turned to the DA.

"The wards are about to fall," she said. They all turned to her, their faces hardening, all of them switching to a serious mode that they all used while preparing for this day.   
"Alright everyone. They haven't appeared on the map yet, but that's only a matter of time. How long Gin?" Ron said, automatically falling back into his role of strategist and commander.

"I give it a minute, maybe two before they fully fall," she replied, tapping into the feeling of the wards, noting how weak they felt and how the magic seemed to flicker and pulse in an unsteady way.

"On the tests we've run, it should take them 5 to 10 minutes to cross the grounds, depending on where they're coming from and how fast they are walking or running," Anthony said when Ron turned to him, since he had been in charge of collecting and collating the data from those tests.

"We work on 5 minutes. That isn't long, so I want all of you to your stations. Be ready for them to come in at any time. There are still the armor guards and the traps they have to get through, but we don't know how long that will delay them. Stay alive, and we will see you when this is over," Ron said. Everyone nodded, splitting into their groups, and heading out into the entrance hall, their exit unnoticed by the adults, apart from Remus who had been discretely watching them.

Dennis, Collin, Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Terry, and Zacharias moved quickly through the hall, making sure not to set off any of the traps that they knew were there. They approached the stairs, splitting up so that Dennis, Collin, Terry, and Zacharias were at the top of the stairs on the left-hand side of the hall, while Parvati, Lavender, and Padma were stationed on the stairs on the right-hand side. They all made sure to stand behind the runes that marked the one-way shielding ward that had been placed there, stepping back so that they were in the shadows to hide from view.

Hannah, Justin, Anthony, and Seamus carefully crossed through the middle of the hall, splitting into two groups as they went. They were in charge of the two corridors that led off from the entrance hall. Hannah and Justin took the corridor on the left, while Anthony and Seamus took the one on the right. Both groups stepped over the shielding ward before they moved into the shadows, one of them on each side of the corridor.

Dean, Michael, Ernie, Susan, Luna, Ginny, Neville, Hermione, and Ron split into groups of three as they moved to their positions around the outside of the entrance hall. Dean, Michael, and Ernie took the wall next to doors that led into the Great Hall, crossing the line of runes, and moved behind the gargoyle in the area with them, hidden from sight by the gargoyle or the shadows it created. Susan, Luna, and Ginny immersed themselves in the shadows between the pillars on the right-hand side of the hall, between the staircase and the corridor that both led away, once again making sure that they were behind the shielding ward that they had placed there. Neville, Hermione, and Ron made the last group, doing the exact same as Ginny, Luna, and Susan, hiding in the shadows created by pillars around the hall, this time on the left-hand side.

They had all just made it to their positions when Ginny stiffened and shivered slightly before cursing under her breath, feeling the wards completely fall, crumbling under the amount of power being pushed on them. They were ready, and the Death Eaters were coming.

The DA watched as the adults all ran out from the Great Hall, either Dumbledore or McGonagall having alerted them to the change on ward status. The teachers knew about the runes and hexes laid through the hall and had clearly warned the others about them, since everyone was moving carefully through the hall as they spread out, their eyes on the floor as they moved so they could see the runes. The teachers and of age students stood in a large group off to the side of the Great Hall doors, on the other side to Dean, Michael, and Ernie. The aurors and Order members had stationed themselves throughout the hall, mainly around the sides and towards the front.

Everyone stood around, all tense and ready for the Death Eaters to attack the castle. Less than ten minutes later the sound of metal clanging, spell fire, and shouting voices could be heard as the Death Eaters encountered the first line of defense on the castle. Ron still had the map in his hand, carefully watching it while still paying attention to his surroundings, relying on both the map and his partners, Neville and Hermione, to let him know that the Death Eaters were entering the castle. He was monitoring the halls around the secret passageways, both pleased and relived to see that no Death Eaters were coming up through any of them.

The clanging disappeared and the sounds of footsteps on the stairs was apparent. The thumps as the Death Eaters fell from the tripping runes and the accompanying screams from those set on fire reverberating through the hall that was otherwise silent, the defenders all on edge and waiting for the invasion. A loud clang was the only warning they got that the Death Eaters had made it up the stairs before they were flooding into the entrance hall, spells firing.

The hall fell into an organized type of chaos. The teachers, aurors, Order members, and few students who were of age were firing spells and dodging, engaging individual Death Eaters in duels, but were restricted to where they could go due to the traps around the hall, not wanting to be caught by them. The DA, scattered around the hall, worked as they had practiced, taking down the Death Eaters from the large amount of shadows in the hall and dodging the spells that came their way when the Death Eaters tried to hit whatever or whoever was shooting from the shadows. Many of the Death Eaters were falling victim to the runes on the ground and the other hexes and spells that they were tripping, incapacitating them in various ways.

Ginny, Luna, and Susan fell into a familiar rhythm. Ginny sent off the more powerful offensive spells, Luna and Susan sending more defensive-inclined offensive spells, that were still impactful spells around her, such as silencers, tripping jinxes, and distractions. They began to dance around each other as spells came their way, the ward in front of them being brought down after constant spell-fire at it, the Death Eaters having noticed that the spells were rebounding off from what seemed to be air in the areas that the wards were situated. Luna raised multiple different shields in front of them as she fell back, keeping the shields powered while sending an occasional spell as well, most of her attention staying on defending the small group. Their rhythm and strategy solely consisted of Susan distracting and disadvantaging the Death Eaters to give Ginny the chance to take them out of the fight, either to be captured or indefinitely taken out, while Luna kept up a defense.

Harry had joined the fight, the fact that she had two wands hidden from the Death Eaters who were still struggling to work out how many people were positioned where around the hall, Luna and Susan already knowing about it, as did the rest of the DA. Together, they were able to bring the Death Eaters down faster than when Ginny worked alone, their spells combining to make more power and to cause bigger impacts, such as water on the ground at the same time as a freezing hex, giving no time for the water to be vanished.

The spells that they were using slowly became more deadly the longer the battle went on, their stunners, disarmers, freezers, immobilizers, and binders becoming fire spells, blasting spells, exploding spells, cutting curses, and bone breakers. The quicker they took out each Death Eater, the better. Neither Luna nor Susan commented on the more lethal and devastating spells coming from either of their wands, simply understanding that such spells were necessary and continuing to defend them and distract and further disadvantage the Death Eaters that Ginny was fighting. Their rhythm flowed without interruption, aside from when their right shoulder was dislocated and Susan pulled her back, to heal and brace their shoulder and get her to down a pain reliever, so she could continue without the sharp pain of the injury.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the small explosions and blasts of fire that were created by the other DA members but kept her focus on the battles that she was fighting. She knew that many Death Eaters were on the ground, incapacitated in various ways, but also knew that she couldn't let her focus drop at all. She knew that she had been hit by a few spells, none of them lethal or extremely damaging, but ignored them, only sending enough attention to them to numb them or to stop, or at least lessen, the blood flow before pushing the remaining pain away.

She ignored the screams around the hall, the bangs and yells and spell fire that echoed around the large hall, none of it mattering apart from keeping herself and her partners alive while taking down the Death Eaters. Her attention did split from her battle though, when even more screams echoed around the hall, screams she knew belonged to members of the DA, teachers, and the Order. She knew that there would be injuries and fatalities, as much as she hated it, it was war and those things occurred, but couldn't help her attention splitting slightly. Even more of her attention split from the battle when she realized what had caused the screams of terror to echo around the hall. Voldemort had just appeared, his snake draped around his shoulders.

 **This could be our chance to take Voldemort down,** Harry said quickly, even as he sent an overpowered cutter at their opponent's arm, taking their wand hand off, Ginny wrapping him in ropes and stunning him at the same time.

 **Let's just hope that something will be able to kill his snake and make Riddle mortal again,** she replied, twisting out of the way of a killing curse sent her way. She jumped to the side, needing a quick breather behind one of the columns nearby that was somehow still standing and taking a sip of both the pepper-up and energy booster on her belt. She took the time that it took for the potions to come into effect to take the chance to have a quick look around the hall. It didn't take long for her to notice that Nagini was slithering around the floor, joining the battle in her own way, none of the runes on the ground activating on her since she wasn't human.

She moved out from behind the column, her energy and magic back up, to continue the fight that was going on all around her. She noticed Luna drop behind her, leg collapsing under her in a way that she was pretty sure meant it was badly injured, probably broken somewhere, and threw up the most powerful shield she knew to give Susan the chance to help Luna, since Luna's shields had dropped as she did. Harry continued to send spells at the Death Eaters, using the less powerful ones like the ones that Susan and Luna had been using, allowing Ginny to use the majority of their power and focus on the shields.

Ginny observed the hall and the battles raging around them as Harry continued to fight, making sure to keep the shield up to full power as she did, even as Harry commanded their body to continue fighting and not get hit by spells where the shield didn't cover, since she was shielding Luna and Susan, not themself. She had taken a step back, not fully away from the front but not in control of anything other than her wand arm, wanting to try and work out a way to take out Nagini, since she was the only Horcrux left.

Harry ducked under another killing curse that was aimed at their head, giving her an idea. Two spells shot over their shoulders, one over each, as they stood still for a second, letting her know that Luna was alright and letting her drop the shield as Luna threw her own up again. She stepped forward slightly in their body but didn't take the offensive again. Instead, she tracked Nagini and the spells flying around her, focusing on two things, dodging and the snake, taking another sip of the pepper-up and energy booster as she did, since the shields had drained them due to how much power she had pumped into them. More killing curses started to fly around the hall as the Death Eaters got more frustrated and she took her chance. She saw three killing curses flying towards her from across the hall and raised her wand, summoning the snake right into the path of the three killing curses as she ducked, just in case the curses missed the snake.

She paused in shock, staring at the corpse of the snake that had fallen to the ground in front of her, the scream of agony the came from the Horcrux as it was destroyed being lost amidst the sounds of battle. She quickly snapping out of it though as a blasting hex hit the ground a few meters in front of her, cause her to stumble back slightly from the aftershock of the impact and the rubble it cause to fly into the air. But as she continued to fight, it was with renewed vigor and force; Voldemort was mortal again and he didn't even know it. He hadn't even noticed that his familiar had fallen, too busy beginning to engage Dumbledore in a one-on-one duel, many of the Death Eaters and the defenders of Hogwarts stopping to watch the two powerful wizards fight.


	86. The One With The Power

Ginny's focus was split as she continued fighting the Death Eaters, some of her focus always on the duel that was occurring between the two powerful wizards in the middle of the room, all the traps where they were fighting having been tripped already. It had been hard enough fully focusing on the battle in front of her when the whole hall was full of bright, clashing lights, the air practically dripping in the residue magic from each spell, trap, and ward, and the magic clashing between Dumbledore and Voldemort just made it even harder.

She ducked again and twisted around so she was hidden behind the column again, noticing that Luna and Susan had done the same behind a second and a third column on either side of her. She occasionally shot a curse out from around the column but didn't emerge from behind it, needing to catch her breath and restore some of her magic again. She downed the rest of the pepper-up and the energy booster, still having a second phial of both on her belt, feeling both potions begin to take effect almost immediately, her magic starting to grow again while her energy began to come back. She shot another curse around the column, staying in a protected place for as long as she could risk; it wouldn't be long before the Death Eaters worked out exactly where the curses were coming from in the shadows and started targeting the column, and she didn't want to be behind it if it broke.

She steeled herself to move back into the battle and ignore the colours of magic flying everywhere, knowing she had to keep her focus on the fight right in front of her. She waited for a curse to hit the wall next to her before darting out of her hiding place and shooting more hexes and jinxes at the Death Eaters. She did her best to ignore the faint shimmer of the shield that Luna had thrown up a few meters in front of her; having it a bit in front of her let her see if she would have to dodge or not, since she could see if the spells were absorbed or not easier than most because of her ability.

She ducked under a killing curse, before twisting out of the way of a blood red curse that she knew would hurt; it was either a blood boiler or a crucio, but she didn't take the time to work out which, since both would hurt like hell. Her and Harry continued to fight together, their rhythm easy to fall into and keep after their hours of practice together against dummies and Remus and Sirius. She continued to keep an eye on her surroundings, watching out for a stray curse or any potion that was being thrown from those stationed up on the stairs, having already having to dodge numerous swelling solutions, forgetfulness potions, confusing concoctions, and shrinking solutions that had been thrown from the stairs to confuse and debilitate the Death Eaters.

Her attention was abruptly ripped from the fight in front of her and her surroundings by a high, cold laugh that had haunted both her nightmares and the ones that Harry had shared with her. Luckily for her, she wasn't caught unaware due to her lack of attention, as everyone in the hall had stopped and turned to the source of the cackle. Everyone had stopped and turned to see Voldemort laughing as Dumbledore lay on the ground, unmoving. The Death Eaters around the hall began laughing along with their leader at the sight, while those defending Hogwarts seemed to lose hope.

"You see how futile it is to oppose me. Your precious Boy-Who-Lived, your Savior, has been dead for years. Dead at my hand. Your beloved Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore, is finished. The battle is over, there is no point in fighting. Come out and kneel before me, and I shall show you my mercy," Voldemort declared, his voice magnified and echoing through the corridors.

**Mercy, yeah right. He doesn't know the meaning of mercy,** Harry commented, remembering the mercy that Voldemort had shown his supporters the night he had been resurrected.

**At least they shouldn't be able to hear that in the Chamber,** Ginny remarked with a soft mental sigh, something Harry agreed with; that was not how anyone would want to find out that Hogwarts had been invaded or that Dumbledore was dead. Even as she said that she was making a mental note about how Voldemort seemed to think that the 35 or so still standing visible defenders were the only ones fighting, but that the students were in the classrooms or somewhere nearby. He hadn't realized that their numbers of still standing fighters was higher than those of his Death Eaters.

"Come out and kneel before me, pledge your allegiance to the new world that we will build. Comply, and you will be spared, your brothers, sisters, and parents forgiven. Resist, and you will be killed, your whole family slaughtered for your insolence. There is no point to continue to fight. Come out, and kneel before your new leader," Voldemort said coldly, his voice continuing to echo around the now silent hall.

Ginny glanced behind her at Susan and Luna, both of whom were staring at Dumbledore's body wide eyed. She glanced around the hall, finding similar expressions on the faces of the rest of the DA, being able to just see them in the shadows as she knew where to look. The adults throughout the hall, the Order, the teachers, and the aurors seemed downtrodden but still determined. The few students who were of age seemed shocked that Dumbledore had fallen. Everywhere she looked, she saw expressions of those who were losing hope.

"It's not over. Not until you're dead," Ginny declared, stepping out of the shadows as she and Harry sent curse after curse at him, the spells chaining as they left Harry's wand at speed, keeping her own wand out of sight, away in the sheathe on her arm, keeping their secret until it was needed. Only Voldemort reacted to their sudden appearance from the shadows, bringing up a shield and starting to deflect the spells as they came at him. No one else moved, the defenders and Death Eaters all equally shocked by Ginny's actions to think about interfering or trying to help. Not even her parents, or her older brothers, who had arrived with the rest of the Order, did anything to stop her.

"Insolent brat. Who do you think you are to challenge me. To challenge Lord Voldemort," Voldemort demanded as he started firing spells back, causing them to break their spell chain to defend as well as attack while keeping her wand secret; they had talked at length about how they would handle Voldemort and had a plan that they were going to stick to, which included keeping the fact that they used two wands a secret until the very end.

"My name is Ginny Weasley. I am the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and the first female Weasley in thousands of years. I've beaten you once and I can do it again," she exclaimed, twisting out of the way of the killing curses that he had sent her way, summoning some of the rubble to take the spells she couldn't dodge. Voldemort sneered as he continued to deflect the spells that they were sending at him while shooting off his own curses.

"You've never beaten me. You are nothing compared to me, girl. Nothing but a blood traitor."

"I don't care about the blood argument; I'm proud to say that I'm a blood traitor. But I wouldn't bring up the blood argument if I were you. You, who champions the pureblood mania. You, Tom Marvolo Riddle, who are nothing more than the bastard son of a muggle and a squib," she shot back, fully aware of the shock that her statement had caused, to both those defending Hogwarts and those who had invaded it. She knew that Harry was fully focused on the fight, leaving her free to carefully watch Voldemort while continuing to duel him, watching as his anger grew at her latest words.

"You lie. You know nothing," Voldemort hissed, his eyes narrowing in outrage.

"I know more than you think Tom," Ginny said as Harry continued to silently fire spells at him, the use of his muggle name only serving to infuriate him more.

"I know about your precious trinkets. I know about your diary that almost killed me, but that I beat. I know about the ring that almost killed Dumbledore, but that he beat. I know about your locket that killed Regulus Black to get, but that his house elf beat. I know about your cup, defeated by the goblins and your diadem, defeated by me. And I know about your snake, beaten by your very own Death Eater's spells."

Voldemort roared in anger at the mention of his Horcruxes, at the implication that they were all gone, and shot multiple crucios at her. She summoned the snake, which she knew was lying nearby, and it took the spells that were meant to cause her unbelievable pain, even as she ducked to avoid them. The sight of the snake's limp body falling to the ground after intercepting the curses sent at her seemed to only anger Voldemort more. And that was what they had been aiming for; one of the first things Sirius and Remus had taught her was that an angry opponent made mistakes.

"And I know that you're finished Tom," she said.

"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort yelled at the same time that Harry called out a fierce **Stupefy** that only she could hear.

Time seemed to slow as the two spells, a bright, sickly green and vivid, scarlet red met in mid-air. The two jets of light connected and became a bright gold. The streams of light were still connected to the wands they had come out of. Both Ginny and Harry had been expecting that, since Harry had researched brother wands after they had found their answers about their soul bonds, but it seemed to have taken Voldemort completely by surprise. And judging by his slightly fearful expression, he had no clue what was going on at all.

Voldemort struggled to keep a hold on his wand and break the connection as Harry focused all his energy on keeping the connection, on keeping the bead that was sliding over the golden connection far away from both of their wands; he didn't want the reaction that would happen if the bead touched one of their wands, knowing it would only serve to distract him and Ginny. There were murmurs reaching their ears from all around the hall, but Ginny ignored that, focusing on Voldemort and his struggle.

All of Voldemort's focus was on the stream of magic connecting his wand with Harry's, so much so that he didn't even notice as she unsheathed her own wand again. He didn't even notice how the murmurs all around them become louder as many took in the fact that she had a second wand, a second wand that she seemed completely comfortable using. He didn't even notice that her wand was aiming at his heart until too late, until his uncanny ability to know what him was around kicked in a moment too late.

"Impedimenta," she cried, pouring as much power as she could into the spell, overpowering it as much as possible. She sent all the magic that she had left into the spell, feeling as the magic that flowed through her poured out and into the spell, vaguely noticing the drain as the magic easily dipped slightly into her reserves.

She had to squint against the brightness of the blue, almost white, magic that surrounded the spell which left her wand, the brightness that surrounded the single jet of light that was all everyone could see. She watched as the bright magic surrounding the small, visible, turquoise jet of a spell enclosed around Voldemort, as the jet hit him right over the heart as he looked up to stare at her in horror. She saw some of the magic that overpowered the spell continue past him, even as the rest of the magic sunk into him.

He gasped, and she somehow, instinctively knew that the curse was slowing everything in his body, the extra magic she had pumped in to the spell making sure that it would affect more than just his muscles and last for longer than a few moments. The jet of magic that was connecting his wand and Harry's broke, letting their arm finally fall back to their side, even as Voldemort toppled over, collapsing backwards on to the ground.

She managed to call enough magic to summon the wand from the fallen monster, sheathing Harry's wand and catching the one flying towards her. She didn't give the bone white wand in her hand the time of day, snapping it as easily as a twig. The wand that had taken Harry was gone. The wand that had taken his parents was gone. The wand that had taken countless lives and destroyed even more was gone. Just like the one who had committed the horrendous acts was gone.


End file.
